


The Mercenaries Story

by NashtheVampyre



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 44,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24618910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NashtheVampyre/pseuds/NashtheVampyre
Summary: Lee is a mercenary trying to make up for past mistakes. But, will helping retrieve a poor vault-dwellers child be enough to clear her past sins? Or will she end up losing all of the people she cares for most?
Relationships: John Hancock (Fallout)/Original Character(s), John Hancock (Fallout)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. An Unexpected Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this nearly two years ago and I've finally decided to pick it back up.

Lee had been walking for nearly a day straight, the dust and gravel crunching under her boots. Her job was complete and she was heading back to the Capital Wastes. The hit was on a big-time gunner, and the client was shady as all hell, but the caps were good. So she couldn’t complain.

Passing by the ruined town of Concord gunfire and shouting drew her attention instantly, the cracks and shouts cutting through the otherwise silent wasteland. She debated checking it out or passing…. Then scoffed, where was the fun in that? 

Crouched, with gun drawn she moved into the town, through a debris-laden side alleyway. 

One thing was obvious, raiders. These unprofessional idiots loved to run their mouths in a firefight. What she hadn’t been expecting was seeing the tall dark-haired man, in a vault suit of all things, engaging them in combat. 

_What the hell?_

The scene didn’t leave much time to think before the car near the man overloaded and erupted in a loud, mini nuclear explosion.  
  
Lee cursed under her breath as the man, who was thankfully far enough away not to have suffered instant death, was knocked unconscious by the explosion that had been triggered by a hefty barrage of raider gunfire. 

Shouldering her rifle, she quickly dispatched the closest raiders. The man’s dog seemed to sense someone was taking out the bad guys and took to dragging down targets so Lee could more easily be rid of them. Vault boy was still unconscious, but thankfully the raiders weren’t focused on him, instead, they slowly began turning their attention to the sniper behind the far street storefront. Too bad for them her aim was quicker. 

Once it seemed everyone was dealt with the dog padded over to her and seemed almost to smile as he stared up at her with his tongue hanging out. Lee bent down and gave him a good scratch behind his ear. 

“Good work, boy. I’m glad you’re safe,” she said with a smile. She had a major soft spot for dogs. 

Together they made their way to the still knocked out vault dweller. 

“Hey! You! Nice work with those raiders! They’re inside, almost on us, any way you can lend us a hand?!” a strained voice echoed down from the museum's balcony, drawing the mercs attention. 

Vault boy groaned and slowly rose from the ground, looking around confused. 

“You up for a fight, chief?” Lee asked, offering her hand to help him fully stand.

He accepted the hand and gave her a still confused once over. “Yeah… yeah, I’m good.” 

Lee nodded and turned to head towards the building. 

“We got you. Hold tight,” she called back. Securing the rifle across her back she replaced it with her .10, scoped rifles were shit in close quarters. 

Aside from sniping, close-quarters was a specialty of hers. As long as she managed to stay quiet she could pick off targets without an all-out gunfight. Of course, if she failed to stay stealthy… well, let’s not think of that. 

Thankfully most of the raiders were dumber than sacks of shit. They weren’t expecting anyone to be coming in from the outside. Idiots. 

Working together it didn’t take long to reach the man and his crew, who were thankful for their sudden appearance.

“Man, I don’t know who you are, but you got here just in time.”

Lee smirked and holstered her gun as she shook his outstretched hand. “Happy to help. Name’s Lee.” 

“Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen, and thanks. Not many people with that kind of attitude these days,” he responded with a small smile. 

Lee slid her sniper rifle off her back and shifted towards the cracked door of the balcony. “They’re regrouping outside,” she informed them, peering through the scope, and frowning at the forming bunch of raiders. Where the hell did they all come from?

“Sturgis?” Preston said looking towards a dark-haired man in dusty overalls, who was hunched over a computer terminal. 

The man turned, leaning back on the desk. “There’s a crashed vertibird on the roof, full suit of power armor to boot. But damn things outta juice-” 

Lee tossed the fusion core she’d grabbed from downstairs, and he quickly caught it, looking both confused and amazed. 

“Never pass those up when I see them. Was planning on selling it, but it’ll come in more handy this way,” she said with a shrug. “Though, hopefully, my sniping skills will prevent me from having to don that power armor. Too bulky for me, but you look like you could use it.” she gestured to Vault boy. 

He nodded with a slightly crooked smirk. “Yeah sure. Name’s Nate by the way.” 

“Duly noted, Nate. I’ll see you out there.” Lee replied, moving out onto the balcony to take shots vulnerable raiders, while Nate rushed to get the power armor. 

  
The rapid-fire of a minigun cut soon cut through the air, followed by a loud crash as Nate leaped off the building to the ground below, the armor absorbing the impact easily. 

Lee hummed, impressed. Vault boy’s got game. 

She pulled away from my scope and grinned as he mowed down the remaining raiders. Before she had time to celebrate the apparent victory, a street grate down the road burst open and a towering deathclaw leaped out, drawing everyone’s attention. Lee stood back and leaned against the door frame. 

“I’ll let the big bastard take out the remaining raiders. Hopefully, they’ll manage to weaken it, then a well-placed headshot might save the day.” 

Sturgis laughed. “Well shit, you are the best luck we’ve had in a long while.”

Lee’s smirk was quickly wiped away. Fucking vault boy was firing at the beast walking closer as he did. 

“No, no, no, no! Vault boy, those are bad! Get into the museum!” Lee yelled. “Run!” Shouldering her rifle with a curse, she took aim at the deathclaw; its legs specifically. The vaultie seemed to understand the urgency as he took off towards the building, while the final raider fell to the beast's claws. (Which truly lived up to their name.) 

Lee fired.   
Again.   
Again. It faltered, stumbling.  
Again. Miss. Fuck.   
Aim for the head.   
Fire.  
Miss. FUCK. 

“Now is not the time to suck.” she hissed under her breath, as the creature weaved back and forth sporadically like it knew what she was trying to do and was one step ahead of her. 

Nate was near to the door when the deathclaw lunged and swiped him to the ground. Even with the protection of the armor, he was thrown like a toy doll. 

… too close. 

FIRE. 

Its skull exploded as brain matter and skull fragments exploded from the back of its horned head; mere feet away from the fallen vaultie. 

“Oh, Jesus... Christ. Fuck.” Lee slumped to the ground heart hammering in her head. 

“Holy shit.” Preston breathed somewhere behind me. “That was- well… I’m glad we’re on the same side.” 

Lee stood up, limbs shaking with adrenaline. “Don’t mention it. Really, those last few shots were embarrassing.” she lamented. 

Preston shot me a look of disbelief. “You just took down a deathclaw… most folks don’t manage that, straight-shooting or not.” 

“And you didn’t even use the power armor!” Sturgis added with an enthusiastic smile.

“Yeah.” she nodded towards the door. “I’ll meet you guys downstairs.” 

Lee headed down to where Nate was sitting, now propped against the museum stairs, power armor discarded, the deathclaw’s corpse a few feet away.

The dog at her side bounded happily over to him. 

“Hey boy! I’m glad one of us got out unscathed.” the man looked up towards the dusty mercenary. “Guess I have you to thank for that.” 

“Yeah, I’d been creeping by when I saw you get knocked out by that explosion, and well, I couldn’t leave the dog.” she grinned and handed him a stim. “Here, your leg needs help.” 

The stim helped stem the bleeding while she bandaged what she could. Once on his feet, the man seemed to be walking with only a slight limp now. 

“Thanks,” he said with a smile. “Probably wouldn’t have escaped if you hadn’t been here.”

“Hey, miracles happen,” she replied, clapping his shoulder. “You might have managed it.” 

The door behind them creaked open. “Hey, you’re alright. I saw you get slammed by that deathclaw, and I feared the worst.” 

Nate smiled slightly. “Yeah, I guess my combat skills are a little rusty. It’s good to see friendly faces out here though,” he replied. 

Lee hung back as an older woman shuffled over to Nate. Garvey had begun speaking to her about a place called Sanctuary Hills and said that they were welcome to join them should they wish. Through the conversation, Lee managed to catch bits of Nate speaking hurriedly with the older woman. Something about his son being alive?

“-If I had some more jet I could tell you more-” the woman said, only to be cut off by Preston. 

“Mama Murphy, that junk is going to be the death of you. No more.” he scolded, sharply, his demeanor telling Lee that this wasn’t the first time they’d had this discussion. 

The woman- Mama Murphy- smiled and waved him off. “Oh hush, Preston. We all gotta die sometime.” she then turned her gaze to Lee, her scarf wrapped head tilting to the side. “He’ll need your help. The Capital Wastes can wait,” she said simply, and to the point. 

Lee’s gaze shifted between her and Preston, and then to Nate who seemed at a loss for what to do. How this woman knew she was from D.C., she had no clue, but she was right that Vaultie might not stand a chance without a guide. Lee reasoned that she couldn’t just walk off and leave him to the Commonwealth’s mercy, especially if he’s looking for his lost son. 

She ran a finger through her black choppy short hair and resolved to grin over at Nate. “I guess I don’t have any other jobs on the table right now. I could stick with you.” 

He seemed to hesitate a moment but then nodded decidedly. “I could use the help, but-” he looked back to Mama Murphy and then to Preston. “Diamond city? I- I’m not sure where that is.” he stammered. 

“You’ve really never been out of your vault then?” Sturgis asked as Preston continued to scold Mama Murphy about her drug use. 

“I- no. We- I’ve been frozen, I guess, since the bombs.” Nate replied, a frown creasing his features. 

Lee could feel the surprise on her face, and it echoed on the people around her. Preston, in particular, looked thrown threw a loop. 

“Wait-” Preston turned from Murphy. “You’re prewar? Like one of those pre-war ghouls?”

“What’s a ghoul?” Nate was way out of his depth. 

Lee piped up. “Irradiated human. The difference is they’ve been awake this whole time, I’m guessing you haven’t?” 

He shook his head. “I just woke up… but I need to find my son.” 

“Mama Murphy might be right then. Diamond City would be a good starting place; someone there might know something, or at least be able to point you in the right direction.” Preston stated. 

Let the adventures begin.

“Well, it’s a bit of a trek from here to Diamond City, we should get moving,” Lee advised, doing a quick check of her sidearm and ammo supply.

Nate seemed to think, but only for a moment. “If you’re sure you want to stick around, I’d certainly appreciate it.” 

Lee smirked and adjusted the bag on her back. “No worries, I’m happy to help.” 

Preston chuckled with a smile. “Hey, when you come back around this way, look for us in Sanctuary, like I said, you two are always welcome to join us. Mama Murphy said it’d be a perfect place for a settlement.” 

Nate looked quickly over to him. “I- it is. Well, I used to live there, before-” he shook his head trying to process his thoughts. ‘I just came from there, anyway. It’s safe. Codsworth, my old Mr. Handy is still there, I’m sure he has a good idea of the area by now, he might be some help.” he finished. 

Preston sighed with relief. “More good news, today is looking up.”

They parted ways from the ragtag band of survivors and headed south. 

_

The sun had just slipped behind the horizon when they reached the closed gates of Diamond City. 

Lee frowned as they walked closer. Was there an attack? Why would they lock the gates? 

“Danny you can’t just lock me out! I live here!” A woman yelled into the intercom at the entrance. She stood, hands-on-hips as she glowered at the speaker, Her shoulder-length dark hair was topped with a newsboy cap, and her red leather jacket was frayed on the ends, though somehow she still managed to look smart. 

There was a crackled sigh from the device. “Mayor’s orders, Piper. I’m sorry, but that last article you wrote really got him steamed.” the voiced, which sounded young, explained tiredly. 

Piper huffed in frustration, and then her eyes lit up as she noticed the unlikely pair off to the side. She smiled and waved them closer. “Hey, you guys want into Diamond city?” 

Nate nodded, and Piper shot him a thumbs up. “Play along,” she whispered with a wink. “What’s that? You two are traders up from Quincy? You have enough supplies to keep the general store stocked for a whole month!” 

“A whole month and a half!” Lee said aloud, playing up the part. 

Piper stifled a giggle. “Hear that, Danny? Do you want to be the one to explain to crazy Myrna why she lost out on supplies?” 

A groan echoed through the intercom once again. “Alright already. I’ll open the gates.” he caved. “No need to make it personal,” he added in a disgruntled half-whisper. 

The green painted gate ground open, the metal grinding as it retracted upward allowing them entrance. 

Piper told them to head inside fast before someone caught on to the ruse, but the entrance was stopped anyway by a tan suited portly man, with a really dorky mustache. Mayor McDonough Lee assumed, having heard the stories on her last trip through here. 

“Piper! Who let you through the gate!?” he yelled, his aging face contorted to anger. “You devious rabble-rousing slanderer!” he admonished. 

Nate and Lee exchanged glances as the pair bickered. 

The gates were closed to keep one woman out? This guy must be a special kind of paranoid. 

“Do you guys support the news?” Piper asked the pair. 

Nate smiled and crossed his well-muscled arms over his chest. “Always believed in freedom of the press,” he answered happily, and Lee delighted as the mayor's face scrunched distastefully. Though he was quick to throw on a friendly smile in its place. 

“Don’t mind her!” he said boisterously, adjusting his tie and gesturing like a crooked salesman. “Oh no, no-no. You look like Diamond City material!” 

Lee fought not to snort indignantly. This man was so full of shit. 

“Well, this hasn’t been the friendliest welcome,” Nate responded, to which Lee smirked and beamed at him. 

Nice one, vaultie. 

The mayor looked flustered as if he wasn’t used to his bullshit winning people over. 

“Perhaps you could help us.” Lee started before he could say anything in response. “We’re looking for someone, a missing child.” 

Piper spoke up quickly, her brows knitted. “A child? Missing?” she turned to McDonough, irritated. “Hear that? What’s Diamond City going to do to help?” 

The mayor blustered about again, stuttering slightly. “I’m sorry to hear that, though regretfully Diamond City security can’t look into every missing person case that comes through here-” 

“Well surely the fine mayor of this town, should know who could help us, even if security has its hands full,” she said, playing to his ego. 

He seemed to hesitate. “Well… there is a private citizen. Nick Valentine. He’s a… detective of sorts. Perhaps he’d be will to help, for a fee of course.” the mayor said finally. 

When he finally departed Piper invited them to speak with her after they’d spoken to Nick. As a reporter, she seemed very interested in Nate’s story. Nate, of course, agreed with a smile. 

Lee had heard about Nick Valentine but had never actually run into him. Her last stop here was just an in and out for supplies… and a drink. The Bobrov brothers make some mean moonshine. 

As they wound through the streets, Nate seemed like a wide-eyed tourist, remarking that he used to come to this stadium before the war to watch baseball games with his wife. Lee could only imagine the shock he felt from seeing it now turned into some patched together town. 

Valentine’s Detective agency was situated in the small alley behind the main shops, the walkway dimmed by the shelter of the makeshift buildings. A heart-shaped sign marked the door they were looking for and the pair entered with a brief knock. 

“Detective Valentine?” Lee questioned, as they squeezed into the small room which held two desks stacked with numerous papers and file folders. 

A woman on the opposite side sighed as she closed the file cabinet she was going through. “More strays coming in from the rain. I’m sorry but the office is closed.” 

Nate walked closer to the edge of the first desk. “I’m sorry, but it’s important. My son, he was kidnapped. He’s… he’s not even a year old.” 

There was that pang of sympathy again, and a bit of shock. Lee didn’t know his child was that young. For Nate’s sake she hoped for the best, but in this world, the chances of finding a child that young were… not good. 

The woman seemed to share her sympathies. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. But the detective, he’s missing. It’s been two weeks and he hasn’t come back.” 

“Where was he last?” Lee questioned. “Do you know? Valentine might be our only chance at getting a lead, if he was gone, we’re going to be up shit creek really fast.” 

“He was investigating a kidnapping by Skinny Malone’s gang. He headed to Park Street Station, that was the last I heard from him,” she answered, her worry evident in her voice. 

“I’ll go. If he’s still alive I’ll find him.” Lee said resolutely. 

Nate rounded on her. “Alone? No way-” 

She cut him off. “I’m a mercenary by trade, I work alone all the time-” 

“And I was military before the war, I’ve known my fair share of combat. I’m coming.” Nate replied, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes were locked on hers as if challenging her to try and stop him. 

Lee paused, then shrugged, conceding. “Guess that explains how you knew how to use power armor.” she looked over at the woman who was staring, confused by the conversation. “We’ll get him back, don’t worry.” 

Once back out in the streets, she talked Nate into waiting until the next morning before venturing out. “The ruins aren’t a place to be snooping around in the dark. Trust me,” she explained. “Let’s hole up, get some moonshine, and a decent meal. Plus… you need a new sidearm, that pipe pistol is embarrassing” she added with a smirk. 

Nate managed to crack a smile and agreed. 

This certainly was going to be one hell of an interesting adventure. 


	2. Finding Your Valentine

Before they left the relative safety of Diamond City, Lee purchased the vaultie a new 10mm and restocked on stims and ammo. The unlikely duo then departed Diamond City just as the sun peeked over the horizon. She hoped this meant that any raiders they’d encounter would be fast asleep at this ungodly hour. 

Their trek led them deep into the heart of downtown, and according to his pipboy map, this meant they were going to be right on the fringes of Boston Common. Word had it that the people who went to the Common never came back. Why? No one seemed to give a straight answer. The popular story was about a super mutant behemoth lovingly name ‘Swan’, but Lee really hoped that wasn’t true. She’d seen behemoths in the ruins of D.C and knew to stay far far away.

True to his earlier statement, Nate seemed to be falling back into his old military training. He was stealthy, and a well-trained shot, as a group of unfortunate raiders found out on their way. 

Apparently these were the early morning type of raiders. Who knew such a thing existed?

After about an hour and a half of sneaking around the ruins, trying to avoid as many confrontations as possible, they reached the fringes of the common. Lee hummed to herself as she scanned the area. It didn’t seem dangerous, despite the numerous warning signs that had been posted around. 

“Think we should risk cutting through?” Nate questioned. 

“I mean…” Lee bit her lip. “I’m sure it’ll bite us in the ass somehow, but why not?” 

Lee led the way, her rifle at the ready, and her eyes scanning for any movement. After the first few paces, she began to relax. 

“Guess, those legends are just old wives tales-” 

An ungodly roar cut her off, echoing off the surrounding buildings. A hulking body sprang from the pond. Lee and Nate both screamed indignantly as the super mutant behemoth stalked towards them. 

“RUN!” Lee shouted, turning and hauling ass towards the subway station, Nate close on her heels. 

A rock narrowly missed them by feet, exploding in the dirt. Skidding around the brick entryway they flew down the stairs as a boulder slammed into the old structure collapsing it over their heads. 

Lee ripped open the door and shoved Nate inside the underground structure saving them from being crushed. They both collapsed on the floor, chests heaving. 

“We’ll look back on this and laugh one day,” she said, with a dry chuckle. 

“At this rate, we won’t live to see that day,” he responded, shaking his head with a wry smile. 

A gun cocking caused them to turn. Two suited ghouls stood in the opposite doorway. 

“Don’t fucking move,” one growled, gun pointed towards them. 

“Now, what the hell is that?” Nate question looking alarmed. 

The ghoul frowned, caught off guard. “It’s a gun jackass-”

“No, you’re face-”

“Nate! Oh my god, you seriously did not just say that.” Lee stammered, slowly reaching down to her own gun. 

“I’m sorry, um, sir. I’ve never seen something- someone, I mean like-” 

BANG BANG

The men both fell and Lee snorted. “Good job distracting them.” 

“I-well, I hadn’t actually meant too-” 

She slapped him on the back. “I know, and seriously we need to work on your tact.”

Lee had no clue who this ‘Skinny Malone’ character was, but his name conjured up images of pre-war mobsters she’d read about in pre-war books. If that was the case, dispatching these losers would be too easy. People who called themselves ‘gangsters’ usually turned out to be sloppy and unprofessional, little more than common untrained thugs. 

Nate proved to be more help than she would have guessed. Once inside she observed his fighting style; calculated, precise, and measured. He moved through the station as if he’d done it a hundred times before. It reminded her of those asshole brotherhood soldiers back in D.C., but she wasn’t complaining. Between the two of them, maneuvering through the station went smoothly, and soon they were moving through a half-finished vault, of which was the crew’s main hideaway. 

A few well-thrown grenades and headshots later, they entered the atrium. A heavily accented Bostonian voice echoed through the chamber as the man taunted, what they gathered, was the detective they had come for. They listened to him drone on, goading comments aimed at the man behind the tinted glass, for well over a minute. Lee finally sniped him, purely just to shut him up. Guy threw taunts like a petulant schoolyard bully. It was grating.

As they reached the top level, Lee hurried to the terminal to unlock the door, with Nate close behind. Both of them knew it wouldn’t be long before someone came to investigate their cohort’s disappearance. Nick seemed of the same mine as he told them through the door that they only had a couple of minutes to get this show on the road. 

The door slid open and Lee stopped in surprise. Nick was…. a synth? 

“Not that I’m not grateful for the timely rescue, but I got to ask? Why come all this way just to rescue an old private eye?” he questioned, bringing a lit cigarette to his lips. His glowing yellow irises trained on her and Nate. A good side portion of his face had lost its external covering and you could see right through into the metal and wires that ran underneath. 

Nate seemed even more thrown by the man in front of them, but seemed to shake it off in favor of the reason they’d come all this way. “We need help. My son was kidnapped, and I was told you might be the only person who could help.” 

Nick’s thin brows slipped into a sympathetic frown. “Well, you got problems, and I’m glad to help. But first, we need to get outta this place.” He nodded ahead. “Come on.” 

Nate looked truly relieved, shooting a smile at Lee, as they followed the old synth back out into the vault. 

Nick explained that he’d come here to rescue someone’s daughter, Darla, who’d he’d been told had been kidnapped. Though to his surprise, she had actually run away from home to join the leader of the mob as his lover. Long story short, he’d been caught off guard and the damsel herself had knocked him out with a bat.

Thankfully, the triggermen throughout the rest of the facility were easy enough to get through, especially with Nick’s added help, and it wasn’t long before they were face to face with Skinny Malone himself.

Nick was right… the name was misleading. 

He was a heavier set man, dressed, as Lee imagined the old pre-war mobster would have been, in a dark classy suit; though he was inevitably dirtier and more worn out than his past counterparts had probably been. 

“Nicky!? Whaddya think you’re doing? You come in here murder my guys, and now you’re just trying ta walk out?!” Skinny complained loudly. 

He was flanked by three triggermen, and an angry-looking dark-haired woman wielding a bat, whom Lee guessed was Darla. She could have been pretty, in the glistening blue sequin dress she wore, if not for the unattractive sneer that seemed permanent on her face. 

“I told you you should have just killed him!” the woman screeched, her voice shrill. Lee mentally added her voice to the list of reasons she was not attractive. 

“Darla! I’m handling it!” Skinny insisted, with a sidelong look at his girl. 

The woman wasn’t having it. “Oh yeah, then how did these two even get in here? Friends of his come to snuff us all out!” she threw back, her eyes glaring at Nate and the bored faced mercenary. 

“Darla, you have a family to go home to,” Nate spoke up, his voice soft. “Why would you throw all that away to join these guys? Is it really worth it?” 

Lee was taken aback by her companion’s statement, she hadn’t been expecting him to try and reason with her. She looked towards him surprise as suddenly Darla hesitated. 

“I-” she faltered and then looked resolutely at Malone. “He’s right. What am I thinking? This is all happening too fast.” she lowered her bat. 

Skinny lowered his gun and turned towards Darla, his face displaying both confusion and hurt. “Darla- wait… where are you going?” He said desperately, his face betraying his confusion and hurt.

“Home, Skinny. This is goodbye… for us.” she said over her shoulder, before sauntering towards the exit. The whole display was rather dramatic, and Lee fought the urge to laugh at the whole thing. These guys really lived up to the stereotypical mobster scene, like a bad pre-war movie.

“Aw come on, Nick! You cost me my men, and now you cost me my girl!?” Malone shot, raising his gun again, but he looked defeated. 

“My friend here just did you a favor, Skinny. Now, are we free to go? You still owe me for two weeks in the hole…” Nick said, arms crossed over his chest, his glowing irises trained on the other man. 

Malone growled in frustration. “Fine! Just- just get out of my sight. You got till the counta ten and if I still see you, you’re dead.” 

Nick nodded and hastened them to follow him, and they all hustled to the exit as Skinny loudly counted down. He led them up a ladder and out of a manhole to the street above. They were all thankful for having escaped a full-on gunfight.

“Whoever knew something so ominous, could look so inviting.” the detective said looking up at the sky with a small smile. “How did you two know where to find me anyway?” 

“Your secretary, she said you were missing when we went to your office,” Lee answered, brushing off her pants as she stood. 

Nick hummed thoughtfully. “I should give her raise.” he mused aloud. “But more importantly we need to work on finding your son. Let’s head back to the office, you can give me the details there.” 

Nate nodded, with a relieved smile. “Thanks, Nick.” 

Nick tipped his hat. “Heck, thank you both for saving me. Time to repay the favor.” 

Lee waved them off. “You two go ahead, I’ll meet you in Diamond City,” she said and noticed Nate’s confused expression. “There’s another town nearby, Goodneighbor. Kleo there has a better stock of firearms than Arturo. You only have a .10 mil, and your vault suit which, while stylish, is like a neon sign that says “Eat me”, “Rob Me”, or a combination of the two. Kleo’s bound to have better gear.” 

Nate looked conflicted. “You know, I can’t repay you-”

She stopped him. “You focus on finding you, son. I’m involved now, so it’s go big or go home. Don’t worry about it.” she assured with a small smile. “I’ll see you two soon.” 

Nick nodded and put a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “She’s right. Come on, let’s head out.” Nick turned to the grinning mercenary. “Stay safe.”

She nodded and offered a two-finger salute. “You too.” 

-

Goodneighbor. She’d stopped here to look for leads on her gunner contract. To her luck, an Ex-gunner named, MacCready was able to give a few good leads. That and Kleo had an arsenal that put her old worn gear to shame. Out of all the settlements she had come through in her travels, this place ranked up there as one of her favorites. Sure it could look rough from the outside, but it had a charm she couldn’t deny. Plus, she’s never been one for law and order.

Pushing through the gates, Lee grinned upon seeing Kleo’s shop open for business. Mama needs a new silencer, she thought happily. She started over when a gruff voice cut her off, halting her steps. 

“Whoa whoa whoa, new in Goodneighbor? Can’t go walking around without insurance.” 

Lee turned and raised an eyebrow to the bald, thuggish looking man to her right. Leather jacket, torn up jeans, and a cigarette dangling from between his fingers. Oh yeah, he was going to the trademarked ‘tough guy’ aesthetic. It was precious. 

“Oh boy!” Lee cheered with mock glee. “Is it the ‘keep dumb assholes away from me’ insurance!?” she clapped her hands. “Because my old policy seems to have just expired!” 

He huffed and flicked his cigarette to the side. “Now don’t be like that. Listen, 100 caps, pay up now, or accidents start to happen. Big. Bloody. Accident-” 

Lee slammed her fist across his face. He staggered back, blood pouring from his now crooked nose. “Ouch. It looks like you didn’t pay your own insurance this month!” she admonished. “Let’s hope your health insurance policy is still good because that nose is going to need looking at.” 

“You bitch!” He yelled, staggering forward towards her, fist raised. Lee prepared for a fight, but a gravelly voice stopped the man in his tracks. A wide-eyed look of surprise causing him to jump back.

“Whoa now, time out.” 

A small smile crossed her lips as the ghoul mayor himself swaggered over. “Finn, my man, you really fucked up this time.” he chastised, grinning at the bleeding thug, his face then darkened as his voice took on a lower, more warning tone. “I told you to knock off this extortion crap.” 

Finn scoffed defiantly, finding his ill-timed courage. “What do you care, Hancock? She ain’t one of us!” Finn leaned closer to Hancock, his blood-smeared face contorted with anger. “You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, and one day, they’ll be a new mayor.” 

Now, even being from the Capital Wastes, she’d hear stories while traveling in the Commonwealth. People said that Goodneighbor was a hard town, full of chems, criminals, and troublemakers, but the one fact that everyone emphasized was, “Do not fuck with Mayor Hancock.”

The ghoul in question smiled thinly at the threat. “Come on man, this is me we’re talking about here.” he held his arm out. “Come here, let me tell you something…” Finn foolishly leaned closer and in a flash, Hancock’s knife was plunged repeatedly into his stomach. 

Finn groaned and slumped to the ground as Hancock wiped the blood off on his pants. “Now, why’d ya have to go and say that, huh? Breaking my heart over here.” he then turned to Lee with a smile. “Thought you’d be halfway back to the Capital by now.” 

She shrugged, trying not to show her unfortunate attraction to the mayor. “Unforeseen circumstances are keeping me here for the foreseeable future.” 

He seemed pleased by this and nodded. “Something to do with that Vaultie you been running with?” 

Lee honestly wasn’t surprised he knew this. Contrary to popular belief Hancock was anything but a dumb chem addled junkie, he was deceivingly intelligent, with eyes in more places than people realized. 

“Yeah, he’s got quite the story.” she imparted. 

Hancock grinned again and pulled a pack of smokes from his worn red coat. “Tell me about it over a drink?” Lee’s stomach fluttered and she tried her best to stamp it down. She’d come too far for this giddy school girl crap.

He offered a cigarette that she gratefully accepted. “Just one? We’re gonna need more than that,” she said, flicking her lighter and taking a long drag. 

“Heh heh, now you’re talking!” the ghoul said with a raspy laugh. 

He threw an arm leisurely over her shoulders as he steered her towards the third rail. Lee caught Daisy giving her a thumbs up from the doorway of her shop, and she fought back a smile. It was good to be back in Goodneighbor.


	3. The Heist of the Century

Hancock and Lee sat in the back VIP section of the Third Rail. This was where she’d first run into MacCready, who apparently was out taking care of some super mutants at the moment. Magnolia’s voice drifted in from the main room, and smoke hung low in the air as they talked.

A couple of beers went by as she told him how the last job had gone, and how she’d ended up with Vault boy. 

“So you guys ain’t got any idea who took the kid?” Hancock questioned after a long thoughtful drag of his cigarette. His brow was furrowed and he seemed to be running a list of suspects in his head. 

“None so far, that’s why we had to get Nick Valentine, a reporter in Diamond city pointed us to him as our best shot,” Lee said, shifting forward to prop her elbows on her knees. 

Hancock smiled. “Heh, good ole Nick. If anyone could find answers it’d be him.” he turned serious again and leaned forward. “You gotta consider the Institute might be behind it though. And, if they are… well, I’m sure you’ve heard the stories, even if you ain’t from around here.” he said lowly, as she sighed. 

“Let’s hope for his sake their not. But fuck, even if it isn’t them, the chances of an infant being kept alive out here?” She didn’t want to finish that thought.

Hancock let out a low breath and took a long drink from his beer. “I wish I knew what to tell ya, sister,” he said, his brow creased with sympathy, his shoulders slumped forward as he leaned on his knees as well. “I’ll have my guys keep an eye out for any leads. Someone’s gotta know something.” 

Lee smiled halfheartedly. “Thanks, Hancock.” she raised her beer in a toast. “You’re the best.” 

“Heh, I aim to please, sister.” he laughed with a wink, raising his own bottle. 

They talked and drank for a good couple of hours before she begrudgingly left the bar to go haggle with Kleo about weapons and armor. That blue vault suit had to go. 

Turning the corner outside of the bar she was stopped by a whisper, obviously trying to get her attention.

“You’re that Mercenary, right? You looking for a job?” The suited man, one of the neighborhood watch, asked as he leaned against the wall of the nearby ally. 

Lee frowned, crossing her arms and leaning back on her leg. “Depends on the job,” she said cooly. “And the pay.” 

The man inclined his head. “Talk to Bobbi No-Nose,” he hooked a thumb down the ally he was in. “From what I gather, the pay’ll be worth your time.” 

She debated for a second. She wasn’t short on caps, but extra meant she could afford even better gear… maybe even a Fatman. Gods, she’d always wanted one of those, and she knew for a fact Kleo had one for sale. The damn thing was just sitting there, taunting her. 

She thanked the watchman and headed into the ally. At the end, she reached the solid metal door and the eye hatch slid open, ghoulified eyes stared back into her green ones. 

“You looking for work?” the woman, who she assumed was Bobbi, asked raspily. 

The merc cocked an eyebrow. “My services aren’t cheap, and it depends on the type of work we’re talking about.” 

The woman scoffed. “Trust me, the pay will be worth the trouble. The job itself just involves a little…. Digging.” 

She frowned incredulously. “Digging? I’m a merc not a Mr. Handy with a shovel.” 

“1000 caps. 500 caps upfront, the rest when the job is done. Take it or leave it.” the woman challenged. 

1000 caps for digging? The whole thing wreaked of something shady, and knowing this town it probably was, but Lee wasn’t going to turn down that kind of payment. She’d have enough to easily outfit Nate and even update her rifle, without breaking the bank.

She nodded. “Alright. I’ll do it.” 

The door clicked and slid open. “About time, now come on. We have work to do.” 

Bobbi led her down to the building’s lower floor where a large tunnel had been dug into the wall and down into the earth. She tossed a bag of caps to Lee while giving a brief description of her duties. She then threw a shovel her way, before sending her into the hole. 

The smell of fresh-packed earth was nearly overpowering in the small tunnel, and Lee fought the urge to wrap a bandana around her face. Soon she heard voices followed by a rumbling of collapsing dirt. 

“We finally got through!” a voice said loudly, while another sighed. 

Two men came into view as the dust settled. “Great. You think Bobbi will actually pay us this week?” 

Lee sighed and shook her head at that admission. Hopefully, Bobbi would pay her as promised, it wasn’t wise to try and dupe a mercenary. Especially not one with her reputation. 

The tunnel opened into a larger room, which would have been promising had it not been for the sudden skittering and clacking of claws. 

Mirelurks. 

The men noticed it too as three of the mutated crabs sprung from the muddy ground. 

“Shit!” one exclaimed gabbing the other man. “We don’t get paid enough for this shit!”

The men ran past Lee as she pulled out her gun with a sigh. “So much for digging.” She lifted her gun. “The pay better be worth it.” she muttered sniping the face of one of the clawed creatures. 

They were easy enough to dispatch, even if one nearly did snag her arm with a claw. 

“What is going on it my tunnel!” Bobbi called as she entered, the final ‘lurk falling back into the mud with a wet thud. 

Great timing Bobbi. 

“Looks like we’re eating like kings tonight!” lee said with mocking bravado. 

The ghoul looked at her in disgust. “You’d eat mirelurk? Disgusting-”

“You’re disgusting.” the merc retorted back deadpan. 

They stared at each other, and Lee tried not to laugh. 

Finally, she sighed, irritated by the young woman’s antics, but said, “At least you stuck around. Guess that means you get promoted.” she hooked a thumb to the tunnel. “Head to Diamond City, there’s a guy there, Mel, we need his tech for the second half of this. He’s in lockup right now, but I’m sure you can find a way to get him out.”

Lee resisted the urge to roll her eyes and groan. 

“Fine, I need to check on a friend there anyway,” she responded, and truthfully she did. “But first things first, what exactly is this job? I want to know what I’m getting into before I haul my ass all the way to ‘The Great Green Jewel’ and back. Again.” 

Bobbi sighed, aggravated. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you.” she conceded. “We’re going to break into the Diamond City strongroom. I think the caps in there will be more than worth it for the walk.” 

Lee’s eyebrows shot up. That  _ would _ be a huge haul. Thieving wasn’t usually her gig, but shit….

“Alright Bobbi, I’ll be back with your guy by tomorrow.” she agreed, heading past her and out of the dank tunnel. 

Once out of the building she made for the gates, the sooner she headed out, the more time she’d have to talk with Nate and Nick, and see what they’d gathered in her absence. 

She was near to the gates when that familiar gravelly voice stopped her. “Leaving so soon? You know it’s not safe to travel the ruins at night.” 

Turning to face Hancock, who was leaning against the small dividing wall between the entrance and the shops, she offered a shrug. 

“Duty calls. I’ll be back soon though,” she said honestly. “Drinks’ll be on me next time.” 

The ghoul smirked, eyes reflecting under the streetlights, betraying an almost sadness. “Well, in that case, hurry back.” he pushed off of the wall and eyed her intently. “Be careful out there, Lee.” 

Lee smirked in response. “Always am.” Over his shoulder, she saw Daisy smirking down from the top window of her building. 

_ Come on, Daisy cut me some slack here! _ Lee mentally shouted at the woman. 

As much as Lee loved her, she was fighting the urge to flip her off. 

With one last crooked smile towards Hancock she turned and pushed through the front gates. 

-

The trip through the downtown ruins was slower than usual, and Hancock was right, traveling at night through there was difficult. It involved more sneaking and much more caution. Thankfully, Lee preferred to wear all black anyway, so blending in was easier. It took over two hours, but finally, Diamond City came into view. 

Once inside Lee made her way to Valentine’s Detective Agency. Inside Nick was seated at his desk, a pen in hand, as he scanned through a file folder. He looked up when she entered. 

“Ah, you’re back, good to see you in one piece,” he said with a small smile, as he motioned for her to take a seat. “Nate’s holed up at the Dugout Inn, told him to get some rest before we made any moves on the case.” 

Lee nodded. “Did you guys find any leads?” taking the offered seat in front of the desk. 

Nick sighed and handed over the worn manila folder. “For better or worse, I think we did.” 

Her eyes scanned over the paper, and she felt her body go stiff as her eyes fell on the name ‘Kellogg’. 

“Shit.” she hissed. 

Nick nodded but raised an eyebrow. “You know him?” 

Lee nodded, face creased with worry. “Not personally, an...acquaintance of mine does.” She shuddered to even speak of Holiday, let alone draw any association between him and herself. “Kellogg has quite a reputation among mercenaries. This guy is ruthless. If he’s involved…” 

Nick hummed in agreement and thankfully didn’t question her ‘acquaintance’. “Yeah, I gathered as much myself. He used to have a house here in town, had a kid with him too.”

Lee’s eyes widened as she placed the papers back on the desk. “A kid? Nate’s?” 

Nick shrugged. “We don’t know, by our estimates, the kid was around 10 years old. It’s possible that Nate could have been frozen for longer than he thought and 10 years passed without him knowing, but- I can’t figure out what his M.O. would be? Why keep the kid with him?” 

Lee ran fingers through her hair, lips pursed as she thought. 

“I’ve heard a few rumors that he had a family once, a kid too, but they were killed in retaliation for a job he did.” she paused. “Not sure how true that is, but maybe he took Nate’s kid to raise as his own?” she huffed, frustrated. “That sounds stupider out loud than in my head.” 

Nick shrugged. “Hey, nothing’s out of the realm of possibility.” he leaned back in his chair, pulling out a cigarette as he did. “But you should probably hole up for the night yourself, doesn’t look like you’ve rested since we last parted ways.” 

Lee waved him off. “I can go days without sleep, good genetics I guess.” she half-joked. “Plus I got a quick job to knock off, the caps could set vaultie up with some decent gear, and maybe even a Fatman for yours truly.” she hooked a thumb at herself with a large smile.  
  
Nick eyed her curiously. “A job from Goodneighbor? Hope it’s nothing too illegal,” he said, tone slightly disapproving.   
  
She smiled reassuringly. “No worries, it’s not a contract, but the caps promised could at least give Nate a leg up on this case. Plus if Kellogg's involved we’re going to need serious firepower. I gotta pick up a guy here and town, but tell Nate I’ll be back in a couple of days. Hopefully, I’ll have some goodies for him to make up for the waiting.” 

The synth hummed but dropped the judgmental look. “You’re really serious about helping him, aren’t you? It’s good, he needs friends he can rely on out here.” Nick said thoughtfully. “Waking up to a world like this? Quite the shock.” 

The merc leaned back in her seat, a curious look coming over her brow. “You sound like you know it first hand.” 

Nick explained how he was a prototype, discarded by the Institute. She guessed he could relate to Nate’s situation at least a bit more than others. They talked a bit longer before she headed off to the old locker rooms that served as the town’s jail.   
  
Once inside she noticed the skeevy looking red-headed man in the first cell, probably her guy. She approached the nearest guard. “Excuse me, but I was wondering if there was any way I could get Mel out of lockup early?” 

The guard eyed her suspiciously. “What for?” he questioned.   
  
She thought fast, remembering that Bobbi said he was good with tech. The lie slipping from her tongue effortlessly. “A friend of mine found a pipboy, Mel’s the only one we know who could get it up and working again.”   
  
The guard hummed. “A pipboy? That’s a helluva thing.” he debated for a second. “Alright, I guess there’s no harm in it, his sentence is up tomorrow anyway.” 

Lee’s fake smile dropped. He was getting out tomorrow? Seriously, Bobbi? She resisted the urge to outright groan, as Mel hurried towards the door once free. She thanked the guard again before following after him. Outside, and a good distance away, Mel finally stopped jogging like an idiot.   
  
“So, you’re Bobbi’s new toy, huh?” he said, arms crossed over his chest, looking at her apprehensively.   
  
“Oh yeah, I’m the new Assaultron 3000, just don’t expect me to vibrate when I put my foot up your ass.” she retorted snarkily. 

Mel huffed. “Clever. So what’s the job?” 

“We’re going to hit Diamond City’s strong room. You up for it?” she informed him, noticing his eyes widen.   
  
“That’s… well shit. Alright then, let’s head back to Goodneighbor, I think I got just the thing Bobbi needs.” 

Lee hummed, hoping that this guy wouldn’t slow her down too much on the road.    
  
-   
  
As it so happened, Mel sucked in combat. Halfway to Goodneighbor, he alerted a band of raiders to their location by literally tripping over a large metal trash can. Lee didn’t even understand how such a thing was possible. He then proceeded to pull out a knife to fight them with. He literally brought a knife to a gunfight. She couldn’t comprehend how he was even still alive. 

Lee could have tripped him and left him for dead. She’d thought about it, multiple times.  
  
Needless to say, she was forced to do all the heavy lifting to compensate for his stupidity and she breathed a heavy sigh of relief when they finally strolled through the gates of Goodneighbor. Mel went off to grab the gadget he thought would work best for the job, and Lee headed back to the Third Rail for a much-needed drink. The job could wait for another hour or so, after dealing with Mel’s bullshit, she earned a break.   
  
She ordered a Gwinnett Stout from Charlie and sat at the bar, taking in the crooning voice of Magnolia. It was around 3 am, at least that’s what she reasoned, and yet, in the settlement that never seemed to sleep, a good number of patrons were still milling around; most already drunk. It didn’t take long before one sorry sod, bolstered by the liquor, made his way into the seat beside her.   
  
“Ain’t seen your pretty face round ‘ere before, the name’s Hancock and I’m…” he swayed a bit in his seat, a crooked grin on his face. “I’m the mayor of this fine town.”   
  
Lee tried not to laugh outright in the man’s face. He had dark brown hair that was messy and unwashed, plus a week’s worth of stubble on his face, a face which was nowhere close to the actual Hancock’s.   
  
“You’re Hancock, eh?” Lee said eyebrow raised. “Huh, always heard he was a ghoul.” 

The man stammered a bit. “Eh, you know how people talk. Pfft rumors, am I right?” when she didn’t respond and he continued. “Nah, but you look like you’d fit in just fine around ‘ere.” he laid a hand against her thigh, and it took all of her strength not to grab it and twist until it broke. 

“Whaddya say we get outta here? You can… pay your respects to the mayor in…. Private.” he leaned closer with every word, and Lee found herself growing too tired of the game…. quick.  
  
“I’m not much in the way of respecting people that haven’t earned it, _Hancock_ ,” she said, drawing out the name sardonically, as she brushed his hand off and made to stand. “And I have other matters to attend to.” So much for a beer.

  
She tried to turn away when a hand grabbed her wrist; tight.   
  
“That’s not very neighborly of you….” the man warned lowly. Lee could already tell his grip was going to bruise.   
  
“You’re _really_ , messing with the wrong person here, Mac. Now, let go of my arm, or you won’t have one, understand?” she hissed, eyes narrowed, freehand sliding to grasp the hilt of her knife.   
  
In his drunken state, the man obviously didn’t register danger when it was staring him in the face, and his grip tightened. “You listen to me, bitch. This is only going to go one way, and we can get there the easy way or the hard way-” he stopped as the sound of a blade meeting flesh hit their ears.   
  
His eyes widened as his hand went slack and he felt slack against the counter. Before Lee had time to frown, the real Hancock was standing in front of her.   
  
“We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.” he grinned, using the man’s jacket to wipe the blood off his knife. 

Lee rolled her eyes. “I had it handled.” She said, placing a hand on her hip. “But thanks.”   
  
Hancock slid his knife away, still smiling. “I know you did, but I wasn’t about to let that kinda shit slide.” he turned to a watchman who was stationed by the stairs. “Do me a favor and get this outta here, would ya?”   
  
The man nodded as Hancock led her away, offering another smoke as he did. “Didn’t expect you’d be back so soon. Job pan out alright?” 

Lee lit up as they walked up the stairs towards the exit. “Still working it, but hopefully.”   
  
He hummed as they exited the bar, and he stopped to lean against the building, taking a long drag himself. “Well, I hope it works out for you.” he paused for a moment, his eyes searching hers. “You ever think about staying?”   
  
She frowned, this wasn’t the question she’d expected. “Staying? What, here?” Her heart drummed heavily with the suggestion. Did he want her to stay?

He chuckled. “It ain’t so bad, you know everyone ain’t like Finn and that asshole down there. But yeah, you know. Something to think about.”   
  
Lee hummed, nodding. “Yeah, something to think about.” she parroted, “And I will, I mean, after all this business with vault boy is settled.”   
  
“You’re really invested in this, ain’t ya?” he asked, a small smile on his lips.   
  
She shrugged another drag. “Nothing prepares you for the wasteland, and this guy is pre-war, I can’t just leave him to his own devices, he’d probably end up butchered by super mutants or something. Nah, I know what it was like as a kid trying to survive in D.C., I can only imagine what he’s going through. It’s the least I can do. My good deed for the year.”   
  
He laughed, drawing a small smile from her. “Well, more power to you, sister.” 

They finished their cigarettes in relative silence after that, and Lee made to say goodbye.   
  
“I’ll see you, and thanks again for the stabbing,” she said with a crooked grin, which he returned with one of his own.   
  
“For you? Anytime.” 

  
-  
  
Bobbi’s tunnel was just as before, except now the stench of decaying mirelurk mixed with the dirt. Lee contemplated if the caps were worth it, but she knew she’d come too far to back out now. Entering the mirelurk room she saw Bobbi and Mel the Moron already waiting.  
  
“Good, you’re finally here,” Bobbi said, looking bored. “You want to fill her in?”  
  
Mel stood beside her, a floating eyebot with a blue pulse charge rigged to the front of it beside him.   
  
“Meet Sonya. This little bot is going to help us move through the earth faster than a mole rat on jet.”   
  
Lee leaned back, skeptical. “Yeah….. I’m not so sure.”   
  
Mel frowned. “Well, what did you expect? A Mr. Handy with a shovel?”   
  
“Honestly… yes. Yes, I did.” 

Mel looked ready to flip her off.   
  
“Alright, we’re wasting time.” Bobbi shut them down. “Mel, show us what it can do.”   
  
Mel’s face lit up. “Alright Sonya, time to shine!”   
  
The eyebot produced a pulse of energy that broke down the loose sediment that packed the opposite wall. Lee couldn’t complain about that. What she could complain about though, was the damned music it kept playing.   
  
“If there is anything in these tunnels, that damn thing is going to give us away in no time. You couldn’t have shut the radio off?” She complained as ‘Butcher Pete’ played over the speaker.  
  


Mel didn’t have a response, and she didn’t have time to bitch as more mirelurks sprung from the ground.    
  


With a curse, she drew her sidearm and fired towards their faces. Bobbi joined in, but Mel still was only sporting his knife. Lee considered ‘accidentally’ shooting him.   
  
Two rooms of mirelurks opened into a subway tunnel full of ferals, that opened into a room with more mirelurks, which then lead to a room with even more ferals. But, all of that didn’t even compare to the two mirelurk hunters that they ran into later. It didn’t take long before a good couple of hours ticked by, and Lee was quickly losing what little patience she possessed. Maybe the caps weren’t worth it after all.   
  
“Alright, if Bobbi’s directions are correct, and I have my doubts,” Mel added in a hushed voice. “The Diamond City strongroom should be just through this wall.”   
  
Lee frowned, already done with this job, and these idiots. “What the hell do you mean doubts?” she ground out, anger building in her. She did not go through all this bullshit to end up being duped.   
  
Mel shrugged sheepishly. “Just seems like Diamond City should be a little more north of here.”   
  
“Well, you two can prove me wrong soon enough.” Bobbi interrupted. “But I don’t have a doubt in my mind.” 

  
Sonja blasted open the wall, and in turn the crumbling ceiling. They made their way up into the small room, Mel bitching about his robot that had been crushed by the debris, and Bobbi led them through an adjacent door into a large warehouse.    
  
Entering the large room, Lee noticed a contingent of people on a catwalk above and drew her rifle. Her hands quickly lowered as her eyes widened. Fahrenheit? 

“Ah, shit.” was all Bobbi offered.   
  
Lee rounded on her. “What the fuck is this, Bobbi?!” she nearly screamed. 

  
“You all just broke into Hancock’s storeroom.” Fahrenheit clarified, a smirk on her face as she leaned against some crates. “I see you were in the dark about this…” 

Her heart sank in her chest as a rage overtook its place. Bobbi had used her, it was all a lie.  
  
“Bobbi, what is this?” Mel asked, his face white.   
  
The ghoul frowned. “Look there’s still a ton of caps on the line here, help me take her out and-” 

BAM. 

Lee’s gun was out faster than anyone could register, and the bullet through the ghouls head before she could finish. 

Mel shouted and stumbled back. “Whoa, what the fuck!?…. I didn’t- I didn’t know-” 

“Get out of here, Mel, before I put one in your brain too,” Lee ordered, holstering her gun as Mel scampered back down to the tunnels. She hoped he wouldn’t make it out.   
  
Fahrenheit came down from the catwalks, a cold grin on her face. “Smart decision. You should go and pay Hancock a visit. He’ll be happy to hear about your… loyalty.”   
  
Lee was just done with this whole thing. “Yeah, I’ll do that.” she managed to get out before heading for the door, her hands shaking with rage as her thrust it open.   
  
Once outside she cursed loudly, seeing Diamond City nearby. “We were so fucking close you lying motherfucker-” she trailed off as she set off all the way back to Goodneighbor.   
  
The passage was relatively uneventful, which Lee took as a sign that her anger was enough to drive even the dumbest raider out of her way.   
  
An hour later she slammed the gate to Goodneighbor open and slumped up the stairs of the Statehouse. She found the ghoul mayor, chilling against a wall, cigarette in his hand. 

“Well, if it isn’t Bobbi’s little patsy-”   
  
Lee held up her hand to stop him. “Fuck off. I don’t want to talk about it.” she sighed and slid down on the couch, her head in her hands.   
  
Hancock’s grin quickly vanished and he moved to sit beside her. “Shit, sorry sister. I didn’t mean anything by it.”   
  
“Did you know the whole fucking time?” Lee questioned, her head still in her hands.   
  
Hancock sighed. “Honestly, I wasn’t 100 percent sure. Hell, I hoped for your sake she was serious about hitting Diamond City.” he sighed. “but….yeah, I shoulda told you before-” 

“Before you basically _used_ me to get rid of Bobbi for you?” Lee offered. “If you wanted her gone or some shit you could have just paid me up front.” she shot.   
  
Hancock leaned back against the couch, taking his hat off and tossing it onto the table. “Fuck, no. I never meant to use you.” he let out a long ragged breath. “Let me tell you… this classy little hat of mine, it’s getting heavy.” Lee lifted her head to look over at him, the frown on her face softening upon seeing him look so defeated. “Am I turning into the man? Some kind of tyrant?” he chanced a glance at her. “I’m putting down the people I’d have been proud to scheme with just a few years ago…”   
  
Lee’s anger lessened slightly. “You’re not a tyrant, Hancock,” she assured in a low voice. “You’re a lot of things, but that ain’t one of them.”   
  
He shook his head. “I need to get back out there, ya know? Mix it up, get my own hands dirty for a change.”

“You want to leave Goodneighbor? Can you even do that?” Lee questioned, surprised. 

Hancock nodded, with a small smile. “Of course I can. No one in power deserves to be comfortable this long. I’ve left before, Fahr can manage without me. Hell, probably better than me.” 

Lee hummed softy. She was still mad about the whole situation, but she couldn’t deny that he seemed to really regret what happened. The words left her mouth before she could stop them. “Come with me then,” she said finally. He frowned, caught off guard by her offer.   
  
“You serious?” he asked. “Thought you were royally pissed at me?” 

She sighed and snagged some jet off his table, raising it to her mouth to take a quick hit. “Oh, I am. But I can’t have you being comfortable now can I?” 

Hancock smiled, his eyes converting something resembling gratitude. “Yeah, I like that.” he stood up. “You just might be the right kind of trouble.”    
  
  



	4. Hunting a Legend

Hancock threw a large bag of caps onto the coffee table in front of her, catching the upset mercenary off guard. “You earned it,” he said, before going to gather some gear. She took the bag and wagered there had to be at least 500 caps within. She honestly hadn’t been expecting that. Adding that to the 500 caps Bobbi had given her upfront she’d ended up making the full 1000 after all. 

While he was busy getting ready Lee headed down to Kleo’s shop, the assaultron was pleased to make a sale. She splurged on some road leathers and a mixture of leather and metal armor pieces. That would give Nate more protection, as well as prevent him from being a giant blue beacon to the scum of the Commonwealth. She also managed to snag a few weapon mods for herself, and another rifle for the Vaultie. While spending everything on the Fatman would have been nice, ultimately she reasoned it would probably be a bitch to haul around anyway. 

When Hancock exited the Statehouse, she was in better spirits than when she’d first entered, and the pair set off towards Diamond city. 

At first, it was a comfortable silence the pair settled into as they traversed the ruins of downtown Boston, but gradually they started chatting and Lee told him a bit more about the Capital Wastes and her travels. 

“Made it all the way to New Vegas once, got kicked out of a casino for breaking the bank, killed some Legionaries, and found out cazadors are literally the incarnation of pure evil. The west coast is certainly an interesting place, let me tell you.” she regaled. 

In return, Hancock told her about how he came to Goodneighbor, about Vic and his tyrannical rule, before he and his ragtag band of drifters had him hung from the balcony. 

Lee gained a bit more admiration for the ghoul, not just anyone would have had the guts to make a move like that. She liked that he saw a problem, and worked to change it for the better, as opposed to turning a blind eye. 

As the lights of Diamond City came into view Hancock slowed to a stop. “You know they ain’t real fond of ghouls in this place, right?” 

Lee stopped herself, shifting around to look at him. “It’s not like we’re looking to buy a house and move in,” she complained, then took off her scarf as an idea hit her. “Here, wrap this around your face.” 

Hancock stared at her for a moment, unmoving. She stalked over, removed his hat, and made to wrap it around his head herself. When she finished, she placed his hat back over the makeshift hood and added a pair of sunglasses from her bag for good measure.

“There is no way this is going to work, sister.” the ghoul said, but she could tell from his voice he was smiling.

She smirked and began walking towards the gates. “Just let me do the talking.” 

The pair were nearly at the entrance when a guard stopped them. “Hey, what’s with the get-up?” the helmeted man questioned, making his way over. 

Lee lied easily. “My friend here just got a botched facelift done by some hack in Goodneighbor. We came to see if Dr. Crocker might be able to fix it.” Lee moved closer to the guard, her voice lowered. “Look, he’s really upset by the whole thing, the poor guy was always ugly but…” she looked back at Hancock, whose face was completely obscured, with feigned sympathy. “He just wanted a shot with the ladies, you know?” 

The guard seemed to buy the story. “Alright, go on through.” Lee thanked him and heard him mutter “Poor bastard.” as she walked back to Hancock, pulling him into the city. 

“A botched facelift? Seriously, sister?” Hancock whispered, sounding incredulous. 

She shrugged as they made their way to Nick’s office. “It worked didn’t it?” 

He couldn’t argue with that. 

Upon entering the agency, she noticed that both Nate and Nick were there, talking between themselves. Nate jumped up when he noticed Lee. “About damn time!” he said loudly. “Nick and I managed to search Kellogg’s old house here, we found some items he thinks Dogmeat could track.” 

As if on cue, the forever happy, german shepherd bounded over with a woof. “Nice to see you too, Nate,” Lee said as a greeting while bending down to give the good boy a pat. 

“Got you some goodies, by the way, you’re welcome,” Lee smirked, handing over the rifle and pulling the clothes and armor pieces from her bag. “Now you won’t stick out like a glowing mole rat.” 

Nick cleared his throat, his eyes looking over Lee’s shoulder. “I see that’s not all you brought back from Goodneighbor.” 

Lee turned as Hancock slid the scarf down with a smirk. “You miss me, Nick?”

The synth sighed. “Not particularly,” he responded, but his words held no malice. “There a reason you decided to join us?” 

“Heard there was a kid that needed rescuing, figured I’d lend a hand.” the ghoul replied, while Nate stared at him. “See something you like?” Hancock questioned, with a raised brow. 

“What are you?” Nate questioned and Lee choked. 

She smacked him on the arm in admonishment. “Nate! You don’t just ask people that, oh my god.” 

Hancock laughed loudly. “He ain’t never seen a ghoul before?” 

Lee shook her head as she massaged her forehead. “Remember some of those gangsters we took out to find Nick? You said some looked weird, yeah, those were ghouls. He’s a ghoul, and he’s a friend.” 

Nick drummed his metal fingers on the desk, drawing everyone’s attention. “As informative as this show and tell has been, are we all going to be traipsing across the Commonwealth after one man?” 

Lee looked between everyone. “Um, yeah? Kellogg isn’t just ‘one man’ either, this guy is serious business. So yeah, the more the merrier…. Also the higher chance of survival. Fuck, bring that reporter chick and our odds of living go even higher.” 

Nick sighed. “I think the four of us will suffice.” 

Dogmeat woofed, and Nick cracked a smile. “Sorry, I meant five.” 

-

Nick talked the band of misfits into camping out at the Dugout for the night, insisting that they all needed a goodnight of rest before the manhunt. But once the sun had barely risen they gang set off from diamond city heading east. Dogmeat led them, and along the way they found various clues that proved they were getting closer. With each new trail marker left by the merc, Nate became visibly more and more anxious. 

They were about halfway when Lee heard a rustling from some dense brush near the tracks they’d been following. She slowed to a stop, hand held up as a gesture for the team to stop. 

“I heard something moving,” she whispered, eyes keenly focused on the bushes. 

Hancock and Nick readied their guns, brows drawn together with concern. Nate wasn’t having any of it. 

“We don’t have time for this,” he growled before shooting into the bushes with a frustrated shout. 

A thunderous roar split the air as a yaoi gaui charged at them, bursting from the gnarled branches. 

“Son of a bitch!” Lee yelled, rushing back, her own rifle firing at the beast. 

Hancock grabbed her and hauled her to the side as the creature swiped at her, its claws missing by inches. 

Nick shouted something that she couldn’t hear over the roaring and gunfire. 

Lee whipped around, the mutated bear towering over her and Hancock, she ducked to the side as it came down and managed to impale her knife into the side of its neck. Hancock unloaded his shotgun in its face as it howled in pain, staggering, as Nick and Nate continued to fire from behind. With a final sickly roar, it fell to the ground a few feet from Lee.

“The hell were you thinking?” Hancock shouted, anger evident in his eyes, as he shoved Nate roughly. “You could've gotten us all killed!” he moved to stalk towards the stumbling former vault dweller, fists clenched. 

Lee grabbed his arm and shushed him. “Hey, we’ve all done stupid shit when we’re frustrated.” 

“Lee come on-” he tried, but she silenced him with a shake of her head. He glared at her.

She turned and began walking. “Come on, we’ve got bigger problems to deal with,” she said simply, as she fell into step with Nate who had his head held low. 

“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.” 

The young merc smiled and offered a shrug. “Hey, no one died. I count that as a win,” she said lightly. “Don’t worry about it, let’s just focus on getting your kid back, m’kay?” 

Nate smiled sadly. “Thanks, Lee.” 

She patted him on the back. “Anytime.” 

-

Fort Hagen’s roof was lined with turrets as the gang followed dogmeat to the blockaded front entrance. 

“I think our canine compatriot has earned himself a metal. How’s about we take it from here, and find a way into this joint?” Hancock said with a small smirk. “Gotta be another entrance somewhere.” 

The dog barked and bounded away, his part played. The four of them snuck around to the parking garage, staying close to the building to avoid the turrets up top. 

Lee took point, with Nate and Nick in the middle, and Hancock watching the back. She led the group into the garage and down a short ramp. Thankfully there was a door, unbarred, that required only a lockpick. Lee made quick work of that and she swung it open slowly. 

“Oh, chems over here.” Hancock’s voice drifted over, and Lee fought back a smile. 

Nick sighed. “Of course, you would find those,” he complained. “You’re like the ghoul equivalent of a drug-sniffing dog,” he added snarkily, to which the ghoul in questioned chuckled. 

“Hey, as someone who doesn’t even have a nose, I’ll take that as a compliment.” 

They moved into the building cautiously. Footsteps creaked above them, and the occasional “area secure” said by mechanical voices, told them synths were the ones patrolling these floors. This all but confirmed the Institute’s involvement. Lee’s chest constricted at the thought that Nate’s child was long gone, and this was going to be a revenge mission as opposed to a rescue. 

The synths contingent, all gen 1’s and 2’s, were easy enough to dispatch between the four of them, and when they finally reached the lower level a gruff voice came over the buildings intercoms. “Heh, never thought you’d even make it to Diamond City. Probably wouldn’t have if your new friend hadn’t found you.” Kellogg’s voice taunted, and Lee’s grip tightened on her gun. “Speaking of new friend, word has it you’ve built quite the reputation down in D.C. It’s a shame you waste your talents being a glorified errand boy.” 

She growled. “At least I don’t abduct children you piece of shit!” she shouted, hoping he could hear her. 

Hancock put a hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to calm her. “Don’t waste your energy, he’ll be full of lead soon enough.” he ghoul assured. 

Lee and Nate both took their frustrations out on the rest of the synths in their way. Finally, the voice on the intercom sighed. “Alright. I’ll unlock the door, let’s talk. My synths are standing down.” 

The buzz and click of the automated security door cut through the room, as it creaked open. Nate stepped through first followed by Nick. Hancock pulled out an inhaler of jet and took a hit. Lee glanced at the others, assuring they weren’t looking and grabbed the inhaler from the ghoul. She raised it to her own mouth and inhaled. 

Hancock smirked at her as she handed it back. “No judgments from me, sister.” 

“Alright. Let’s talk.” the gruff voice cut through their jet haze, refocusing them on the mission. 

Lee and Hancock moved closer, guns raised, mirroring the stances of their companions in front. 

“Where is Shaun?!” Nate growled out. “Where is my son!?”

The older mercenary smiled and held out his hands. “You made it, but you’re too late. Shaun’s gone, back to the Institute-” 

“You son of a bitch!” Nate yelled, hoisting his gun up further to aim at the other man’s face. Kellogg didn’t even flinch. 

“Look, you’ve got the answer you came for. I don’t have your son. So I’ll give you the option to walk away now.” 

Nate’s eyes narrowed. “Go to hell.” 

His finger jerked the trigger and instantly Kellogg was cloaked, having thrown himself to the side. The blue of the remaining synths laser rifles lit up the room as Nate fell into cover. 

Lee swore as a blue beam of energy narrowly missed her shoulder. With the jet in her system, the time around her seemed slow. Though she tried not to depend on chems in firefights, she had to admit jet gave a slight advantage boost. 

Nate was on a warpath in front of her, shouting at Kellogg who was still cloaked, while taking out any synths that he could. Likewise, Nick was covering him as best he could, while Hancock and Lee focused on the rest. 

A flicker in the air caught Lee’s attention, the tell-tale disruption of a stealth boy, easier to see in the slow motion of the jet haze. She lifted her rifle and fired. 

The stealth field dropped and Kellogg staggered, the bullet clipping his shoulder. His eyes locked onto hers, a twisted smile on his face. For a moment he reminded her of Holiday, and she forced herself not to shudder. A split second later his head exploded into a smattering of blood and brains. 

Nick and Hancock finished off the rest of the synths, as Nate unloaded bullet after bullet into the dead mercenary. 

Lee watched until his clip was emptied. “He’s not getting back up, Nate,” she said, voice solemn. 

The former soldier was breathing heavily, his eyes never leaving the bloodied body of the man who’d ruined his life. “They have him, he’s still out there.” he managed out. “The Institute.” 

Nick and Hancock had joined them by now, and both shifted uncomfortably. They knew that this case just quadrupled in difficulty. “Well kid, we should head back to the office. Maybe Piper will have found another lead for us.” Nick said, his face lined with sympathy. He knew that was likely not the case, and that they were even more in the dark than when they’d started. 

Lee looked down at the bloodied merc as Hancock went to search the computer for anything else that might help. Lee frowned as a device caught her eye among the blood. A piece of the brain that looked to have wired running through it. Upon closer examination, you could tell he’d had a good number of mechanical enhancements, metal showing under blasted skin. “So that’s why you became a legend.” She leaned down and picked up the small brain fragment. “Looks like he was nearly as synthetic as you, Nick.” 

Nick grimaced. “You keeping that as a souvenir?” he questioned as she wrapped it up. 

Lee shrugged. “It looks like some kind of neural augmenter, got to be someone who’ll pay money for it. Maybe Amari…” she mused. 

Hancock tossed a holodisk to Nick. “Yeah I don’t know about Amari, but Nick’s right, let’s head out before that thing starts to stink,” he said pointing at Kellogg. 

Nate nodded, but it was obvious to everyone that he was feeling worse than when they’d arrived. Off the service elevator to the roof, Lee used the available terminal to shut down the turrets and open the security door. Stepping out onto the roof the four stopped dead, eyes wide as a gigantic zeppelin cruised overhead with a handful of vertibirds flying alongside it. 

“People of the Commonwealth. Do not be afraid, we are the Brotherhood of Steel.” a voice echoed, foreboding through the area. 

Lee’s blood ran cold. They couldn’t be here, not them. 

“Holy... shit.” Hancock’s voice came from beside her. 

Lee stalked off towards the ladder. “Come on, we have places to be,” she said, her voice colder than she’d meant. 

Shaun’s inside the institute, their lead is dead, and now the Brotherhood is here. What else could possibly go wrong?


	5. Speak of the Devil

Back in Diamond City, Nick led them to Piper’s office. It was a cluttered place, and the smell of paper and ink heavily permeated it.    
  
“So, Nick Valentine makes a visit to my office for a change,” she said as a greeting. “And you brought the whole gang… including my second least favorite mayor.” she eyed the ghoul with disdain.    
  
“Sorry darlin’ but I ain’t got time for an interview today,” Hancock responded, his voice low and flirtatious. A pang of jealousy jolted through Lee, but she tried her best to stamp it down.    
  
Piper rolled her eyes and groaned. ‘I’m going to pretend that exchange didn’t happen.” she turned to Nate. “So, you holding up, Blue?”    
  
Nate shook his head, and his fist clenched. “That bastard didn’t have Shaun, he gave him to them, the Institute.”    
  
Piper’s face turned grim. “The Institute? Oh boy…” 

“Well, there has to be a way to get to them. Synths get out, and Kellogg obviously had access.” Lee spoke up. “They can’t be completely impenetrable.”

Piper shook her head. “No one’s ever found a way in-”

“But Lee’s right, Kellogg had to have had access-” Nick cut in, only to be cut off by Nate.    
  
“And he’s dead, so unless you feel like holding a seance….”

Lee hummed. “I’ve done one of those before.” 

Hancock snorted back a laugh. “You know, that honestly doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “Did it work?” 

Before she could respond Nick spoke up. “You know that actually gives me an idea. You still have that neural implant, Lee?” 

  
The merc nodded, eyeing the detective with confusion.    
  
“If anyone could get a dead brain to sing, it would be Dr. Amari, we might not be at a dead end after all,” he explained.   
  
Piper’s nose scrunched up at the thought. “Jesus, Nick, gross!”    
  
“Well, we don’t have a lot of other options.” 

Hancock clapped a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “Sounds good to me,” he said with a smile. “And don’t worry, Nate. Nick’s right, Amari is one of the best. If anyone can get info outta a chunk of grey matter it’d be her.” 

Lee nodded to Nate. “We’re not defeated yet.”

-

Once back in Goodneighbor, Nate made a beeline to the Memory Den. 

Irma lounged on her usual chaise and greeted Nick with a smile. “Come back to see me after all this time, Nick?” she asked coyly, her eyelashes batting his way.    
  
Nick chuckled. “I may have walked out of the Den, Irma, but I’ve never walked out on you.” the synth replied smoothly, causing both Lee and Hancock to exchange glances.    
  
“Damn, and I thought I was smooth.” the ghoul said under his breath.    
  
“Oh, you. Amari’s downstairs, you big flirt.” Irma instructed, her smile never wavering.    
  
Lee followed behind the Detective and Nate as they led the way down to the basement. “Dr. Amari?” Nick called ahead. 

Entering a small room with two memory loungers they all fanned out as the doctor turned in surprise. “Well, I’ll take it this isn’t a social call then?” she ventured correctly, as she looked between the unlikely group.    
  
“Unfortunately not. We need to get information, but it’s not from a source you’re used to working with.” Nick informed as Lee stepped forward to hand over the implant with a smirk.    
  
Amari just stared at it. “What is- is that a hippocampus?” 

Lee shrugged; brains weren’t her specialty unless it involved putting a bullet through them.    
  
“This brain had information on the Institute Amari, you need this, and so do we.” Nick insisted, and the Doctor finally took it from Lee’s fingers.    
  
Amari considered a moment, before surrendering. “Alright, but no promises. This has…. Never been attempted before.” she conceded. “Plus there is the matter of what to even hook it up too in order to access the memories inside.” she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This will take time.”    
  
“We haven’t got time.” Nate insisted, speaking up. “Please, they have my son.” 

Lee placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, as Amari shook her head. “I’m sorry but-” 

“You know those wires do look awfully familiar,” Nick said, his eyebrow raised towards the doctor. 

Lee frowned. He couldn’t possibly be suggesting what she thought he was.   
  
“Well that’s not unexpected, institute tech hardly varies in its design. I suppose it might be possible to establish a connection using you, Mr. Valentine.” Amari agreed, and Lee gaped at her.

Nick sighed and moved forward. “Well, let’s not waste any more time then.” 

Lee reached out to stop him, a hand grabbing his old trench coat, stopping him. “Wait…” she looked over to Amari. “I’ll do it.” 

Amari frowned, taken aback by the declaration. “ What are you talking about?” 

Lee came forward fingers probing the back of her neck. She turned, her fingers pressing at the base causing a small silicone piece to pop out and expose a small plug insert. “I have a neural interface hook up,” she looked at her companions baffled faces and explained. “An employer of mine installed it as payment years ago. It hooks up to these specially designed glasses to aid with targeting, kind of like that VATS system on your pipboy. The glasses are currently being repaired in DC, but that’s another story. Could it work, Doc?” 

Lee turned back to face Amari who hummed. “I… suppose-” she replied hesitantly. 

“Now wait a minute, Lee think about this, if something goes wrong…. Well, I’m just an old beat up synth-” Nick tried to argue.    
  
“No, you’re the detective that’s going to help our boy here find his son. I’m just a hired gun who shoots people for caps.” Lee smirked. “Hook it up, let’s delve into this bastards head.” 

“Lee….” Nate started, but he trailed off the words escaping him as he looked at her with pleading eyes.   
  
Hancock shifted uncomfortably, worry written on his lined face. “Lee, we don’t know what that thing could do. It could fry your brain for all we know.” he tried, but she waved him off.    
  


Amari told her to sit in the small chair and Lee tried not to squirm as she plugged the wires of the implant into the base of her neck. She could feel a spark and let out a gasp as pain struck through her temple.    
  
“Are you getting anything?” Amari asked, but it seemed far away.    
  
Lee shook her head. “No, just flashes, nothing is coherent,” she responded. “Might be a fail-safe. Makes my teeth feel funny.”    
  
Amari unplugged the connection and Lee let out a long breath. 

“The encryption might be too much for one mind to overcome.” the doctor said, and then hummed once more. “But maybe two minds, working together?” she mused.    
  
Nate stepped forward. “Alright, then let’s do it.” he gestured to the memory lounger. “I’m ready if you are.”    
  
Lee shot him a thumbs up and walked over to the other one, leaning forward onto her knees so Amari could plug her in once more.    
  
With the implant in place, Lee leaned back and let the pod do its job. 

The world around her went black. She waited but no light came, just the incomprehensible expanse of darkness surrounded her.   
  
She frowned, unsure if the right thing was happening. “Is it working? Amari? Nate?” she called out into the blackness only to be met with the echo of her own voice. “Well shit.”   
  
“You had promise, kid. Could have been a great merc one day. One of the best.” a rough voice, like sandpaper, filled her ears. Her heart jumped to her throat. He couldn’t be here, this was all in her head…. His head? He’s dead though, it’s not real.   
  
A laugh, cold and cruel. “Oh, it’s real, kid.” 

Lee turned, her eyes scanning back and forth into the empty, but seeing nothing but black. A hand latched onto her shoulder, causing an unwilling yelp to leave her throat. She jerked and spun to face the man himself, seemingly materialized from nothing he stood before her, a smirk on his scarred face.

“Didn’t take you for the jumpy type…” he jabbed. “You know, I meant what I said in the bunker. It’s a shame you waste your talents like a glorified errand boy. You could have been so much more.”    
  
Lee snarled. “More? Like you? Kidnapping babies and handing them over to a bunch of psychopaths?” her fists clenched. “You don’t get to criticize me, not with all the blood on your hands-”    
  
Kellogg scoffed. “You demonize me, but we both know your hands aren’t any cleaner.” he smiled darkly. “Harkness and Victoria Watts, Rivet City, hell what you did with Megaton? That shit was inspired! The employer was really insistent weren’t they? And the caps were too good to turn down…”   
  
Lee growled. “Shut up-” fear and shame erupted in her at the memory.

He began circling her. “Jacob Marshall, Lucas Simms, Janet Caulman,” he rattled off, before stopping with a feigned look of admonishment. “And Moira Brown? Didn’t even have a contract out for her. What did she ever do to deserve two in the brain?” 

“I changed, that’s not me anymore. I don’t kill just anyone anymore,” she yelled. “But you were a murderer until the moment you died!”   
  
Kellogg laughed, clearly egging her on. “So self-righteous… you’ve ‘changed’, but that doesn’t undo the blood you’ve shed does it? Is helping to find this man’s son some kind of half-assed attempt at redemption?” he chuckled as she continued to glare. “You don’t even know the half of it.”    
  
“Half of what?” Lee shot as she tried to follow him with her eyes. He stopped behind her, and she fought the urge to turn and run. “They had big plans for you, Annabelle Steele, you can try to run, from your past, from your purpose, but you’ll find your way home soon enough.” Kellogg threatened.   
  
Lee jerked away from him and turned to face the grinning man. “You’re insane, nothing you’re saying makes any fucking sense! Get out of my head!” she shouted.    
  
But the older mercenary just continued to smile. “The ride ain’t over yet. We still have time.”    
  
Lee growled and ran at him, turning to slam a kick into his knee, but he lazily caught her leg and chuckled again as she hit the floor.   
  
“Really? I expected better from the Valkyrie herself…” Lee winced at the name, and he caught on easily. “Oh? Do we not go by that name anymore? The bringer of the slain, painting the Capital Wastes with blood, all on the terms of the highest bidder?”    
  
Lee flipped to her feet, eyes narrowed. “That’s not me…” 

“Oh that’s exactly you, that’s what they made you to be.” he responded, dodging another blow and throwing her down again with ease.    
  
“No one made me! I MADE MYSELF!” Lee screamed, unbridled rage coursing through her like a hit of psycho. 

The rage flared as he laughed yet again. “You keep telling yourself that, Valkyrie.” he paused. “But… what would Hancock think if he knew the truth about your past?” 

Lee faltered, sudden fear shooting through her. “Stop, stop it. THIS ISN’T REAL!”    
  
“Oh, he’d hate you, surely. A murderer masquerading as the protector. A wolf pretending to help the sheep.”    
  
“SHUT UP!” she screamed, launching herself at him like a feral, but he quickly slammed her back to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and her vision flickered in and out. He held her down, a boot crushing down on her chest. When she could see straight terror gripped her heart. Gone was the grizzled Mercenary and in his place was the devil himself.    
  
Holiday.    
  
“No, no, not you. You’re not here, this isn’t real-” Lee scrambled, as the blonde-haired psychopath smiled darkly at her from above. “Amari pull me out!” she pleaded, but no help came.    
  
“Oh, my sweet, Lee.” Holiday crooned. “No one is coming to help you. But, do feel free to scream…” his smile turned savage. “You know how much I revel in hearing it.”    
  
“Fuck you-” she spat.    
  
He slammed his boot down on her chest and pain erupted as she struggled to breathe. The predator knelt down to pin her, a knife to her throat. “Thinking back to the past, are we?” he taunted, his sick smile never faltering. “You always did look so beautiful beneath me, my sweet Valkyrie.”    
  
Lee’s heart hammered in her chest with such force she thought it might give out. “Shut up, your not real, none of this is-” She screamed aloud as the knife bit into her neck.    
  
“Just because it’s happening in your head, doesn’t mean it’s not very real.” He drew the blade across her neck, as Lee’s screams turned to garbled choking. 

Her vision went black and everything stopped for a minute before she was met with nothing but air and blinding white light.    
  
“Lee? Lee? Please, talk to me. Amari, gimme a fucking stim! Jesus Christ…. Hurry up god damn it!” a familiar gravelly voice yelled, as she blinked trying to see. Hancock’s face slowly came into view, his dark eyes wide with fear and concern.    
  
“Hancock?” Lee managed out. “What’s all the fuss… ugh, my head feels like a brahmin kicked it.”    
  
The ghoul breathed in relief as he steadied the woman in front of him, his hands quickly working to administer the stim to her system. “Nate got the info, but you weren’t coming to… and then you started screaming and seizing. Amari threw the others out, I-” he trailed off scanning her face. “Are you okay?” he asked lowly, a hand coming to cup her face. “I didn’t know if you were going to-” his words failed him, as his thumb rubbed her cheek.   
  
Lee swallowed and shook her head. “I’m- yeah, I’m okay.” she lied. “Must have been…. A side effect, or something.”

The look on Hancock’s face told her he didn’t believe her one bit. “You don’t have to pretend for me, sister. I won’t push but, if you need anything, I’m here.” he rubbed the back of his neck, and cast his eyes to the floor.    
  
Lee smiled softly, rocking on her soles, before quickly leaning into to plant a small kiss on the ghoul’s cheek. “Thanks, Hancock.”    
  
“If you two are done, I’d like to give Lee a once over to make sure there isn’t any lasting damage,” Amari said dryly, her arms crossed as she eyed them.    
  


-

Once Amari was satisfied, and Lee had lied out her ass about what she’d seen, Hancock led her upstairs to where Nate and Nick were seated, waiting with worried looks etched on their faces. Nate jumped up when he saw her. “Lee, I’m so sorry, are you alright? I shouldn’t have let you go through with that.” he stammered, catching her off guard by pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry.” he murmured against her.    
  
Lee chuckled and patted his back awkwardly. “Hey, I’m not dead am I? No worries, you got the info and that’s the most important thing.”    
  
They filled her in on the info they’d gotten. The Institute and their teleportation, plus Virgil and the Glowing Sea.    
  
“That isn’t a place you run into lightly,” Lee warned. “I came through it, like a moron, might I add, heading up here. We’re going to need a shit ton of rad-x.” she hummed, an idea coming to her. “But you know, there was that old suit of power armor in Concord, we take the time to fix that up and you won’t even have to worry about the rads. Plus, it’s more protection than a hazmat suit.”   
  
Nick raised an eyebrow. “I mean, that could work. Still not thrilled about you going in with only rad-x though-” 

“You would make a helluva ghoul though,” Hancock added, as Nick shot him a look. 

Lee shot the ghoul a thumbs up. “I’ve done it before, and this time I’ll make sure to take extra pills this time. I’ll be fine, Nick.”    
  
The synth conceded, though not happily. “Alright, but we still can’t jump into this. How about Nate and I head back and see about fixing up that power armor, you get some rest here and we’ll meet up in two weeks back in Diamond City,” he suggested.    
  
Hancock shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” he agreed, throwing his arm lazily around Lee. “Come on, I’ll set you up a room in the State House.”    
  
Lee snorted. “Is it your room?”   
  
“Only if you ask nicely.” the ghoul teased, causing Lee to involuntarily redden.    
  
Nick cleared his throat. “You two have fun, don’t get in too much trouble,” he said, but a small smile tugged at his lips.    
  
“Come on, Nick. You know I don’t make promises I won’t keep.” Hancock replied with a wink. 

They headed out of the Den and Nick pulled Lee aside. “Kid, I wanted to say…I’m sorry. I should never have let you volunteer. It should have been me, not you, that went through whatever hell was in that old mercs brain.”    
  
“Nick, as a mercenary I’ve come to terms with being expendable-” he made to cut her off but she stopped him with a finger. “You’ve made a living helping people, and I made a life pulling the trigger on those people. You’re the epitome of a good man, and I didn’t want to risk that bastard’s mind potentially corrupting yours. Me? I’m already corrupt. The world doesn’t need people like me, but the world can’t afford to lose people like you.”

Nick’s brows pulled together, and he seemed at a loss for words.    
  
“Thanks, kid,” he said finally, his voice low as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “But don’t sell yourself short. You’re not as corrupt as you might think, at least not from where I’m standing,” he said gently. “I don’t know your past, but it’s the here and now that really matters. No one is expendable, kid. Least of all you, remember that.”

Lee’s chest constricted as emotion welled up in her. Without warning, she grabbed the synth in a brief hug. He was caught off guard for a second, but then chuckled and returned the embrace.    
  
“I’m feeling kinda left out over here!” Hancock’s voice called from behind them. Lee laughed as she heard him say, “No Nate, I don’t want a hug from  _ you _ !”    
  
-

True to his word, Hancock had a room made up in the State House for her. The night was winding down and the two of them were seated next to each other both savoring a jet high.    
  
Beside her, he sighed and shifted. He leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling, brow creased as Lee watched him curiously. Finally, he spoke up.

“You know, that shit with Bobbi-” Lee groaned, but he continued. “Nah, hold on, I need you to hear this. That shit with Bobbi, I ain’t proud of having to put you through that. All that manipulative dictatorial shit… you know that ain’t my style.”   
  
Lee turned her head to look over at him as he continued. “I never meant to use you like that…”   
  
“It’s done, Hancock. She needed to be dealt with and I was already in the position to deal with her. I’m over it.” And truly she’d nearly forgotten about it in light of her mental meeting with old demons and the devil himself.   
  
The ghoul sat up still frowning. “Yeah, but I ain’t. I just feel like the line I’m supposed to walk as mayor, it just keeps getting thinner and thinner until I can’t even fucking think straight. All this political behind the scenes bullshit, it’s like one step forward and two steps back.” 

  
Lee sighed, her head still buzzing from the jet. “You need to get laid,” she responded without thinking. It took a moment before the words registered in her own head, and when they did she felt like smacking herself repeatedly with a powerfist. 

Hancock chuckled, obviously not expecting that response himself. “You volunteering?” 

Lee could feel the heat rush to her face, among other things. For a moment she considered playing it off as a joke, but with the alcohol from earlier and the jet in her system, she shrugged nonchalantly. After the day she’s had, maybe she needed to get laid too. 

“Maybe I am…” she teased, attempting to sound as coy as Irma had earlier, though she wasn’t sure if coming from her it sounded right.    
  
Hancock shifted on the couch, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. “Well, come here darlin’...” he beckoned her closer, leaning himself back.   
  
She downed the rest of her beer and moved to straddle his hips, her arms languidly wrapping around his neck. The proximity was already causing her head to spin, and her stomach to knot with anticipation. She leaned down and hastily captured his thin lips with hers.    
  
Hancock responded with equal enthusiasm, his lips expertly moving against hers, his tongue flicking out to taste her. Lee moaned as his tongue lavished her own, the feeling warm and wet.    
  
He moved to lay her back against the sofa, his lips never leaving hers, as a calloused hand explored under her shirt. He broke from her lips to kiss down her neck, pulling her shirt up, to plant wet kisses down her stomach.    
  
Lee writhed and moaned in spite of herself, “John please.” she stammered out, causing his breath to hitch and another smirk to come to his lips.    
  
“Been a long time since anyone’s called me that, Luv. Sounds so good from your lips though.” he breathed.    
  
His fingers caught under the waistband of her jeans and slowly pulled them down. He reached to trace a finger along the seam of her lower lips. “Mmmm, already so wet for me….” he growled.    
  
Leaning down, he planted a kiss on her inner thigh causing her to gasp, closer he moved, the anticipation burning in her stomach like a hot coal.   
  
“Hancock we got-” The door slammed open as Fahrenheit stomped in. “Super-” she stopped and glared. “Sorry to interrupt, boss. But we got super mutants moving in on the perimeter.”    
  
John swore loudly. “Alright! Fucking hell Fahr, learn to goddamn knock!” 

-   
  
The mutants were easily dispatched, and the attack overall had been minor, with no casualties on Goodneighbor’s side. Lee ran a hand through her hair as she slipped her rifle across her back. Now maybe they could pick up where they left off. At least that was her hope.    
  
She found Hancock talking to Fahr outside of the State House doors. The bodyguard shot her a look before departing back to her watch. Lee gathered her nerves and approached. Had she not been still feeling the buzz of the alcohol, she would have scolded herself for feeling so nervous and giddy, but right now she just couldn’t care.    
  
“Hey…” she managed, but then trailed off not sure what to say. She didn’t want to come off as the shy type, but she couldn’t bring herself to say, ‘come on let’s go fuck.’ Putting on a brave face she came to rest beside him, placing a bold hand on his chest. “You want to get back to the action?” she questioned, a small shy smile involuntarily forming. 

Hancock cleared his throat and pulled away from her suddenly. “Hey, yeah… you better get some sleep. After the Memory Den and all this… been a long day.” he said at length, and Lee’s heart dropped to her stomach.    
  
She tried to play off her disappointment. “Um, yeah… right. Getting late and all that. I’ll see you tomorrow?” The last part came out more like an uncertain question, and she felt the urge to bury her face and run.   
  
He nodded and lit up a smoke. “Yeah, yeah… tomorrow,” he muttered low, and more to himself than anyone, not bothering to look at her.   
  
Once behind the closed door to her designated room Lee suddenly felt alone. It was an unnerving feeling, and one she wasn’t accustomed to. She’d been alone for years doing jobs and traveling, she rarely had anyone else to count on, and yet now there was a sinking feeling that she couldn’t shake. 

“This is why you  _ never  _ get emotionally involved.” a dark voice filtered through her mind.    
  
She scowled and shook it away.

  
Ever since she’d come into Goodneighbor, she’d been taken in by Hancock’s confident personality, but more so by his seemingly endless supply of kindness. While many feared him, and rightfully so, he could be dangerous when he needed to be, but she knew how deeply he cared for his people. Daisy of all people had picked up on her crush almost immediately, and since then the woman had never let it slide.    
  
Lee sighed in frustration and slide back on the bed. They’d been so close, and now….? What if that had fucked up their whole friendship. All that thrown away because she’d gotten loose lips.    
  
“Loose lips, sink ships. “Friend” ships, in this case, I suppose.” the voice spoke up again.    
  
She shivered and closed her eyes just hoping sleep would bring her peace.    
  
-   
  
Bloodstained hands and fire filtered into her vision. The smell of smoke and burning flesh overwhelmed her, causing her to cough violently. But worse than all this, was the screaming. The terrified screams that echoed around her, splitting her ears, and piercing her soul.    
  
Her body worked on its own as she slowly stood, feeling her mouth stretch into a smile. Goodneighbor was burning, blood staining the streets. Streets that were now lined with the bodies of its former citizens.    
  
She looked down at the impacted face of Kent Connolly, his skull smashed, and his face bloody, almost beyond recognition. “It’s a wonder someone as worthless as this one, even managed to survive 200 years,” she said aloud, but the words weren’t her own. Inside she was screaming, howling in agony at the sight before her. “Didn’t even make it a challenge. No fun.”    
  
Her body turned and strolled into the statehouse casually as if hell itself wasn’t burning around them. Up the stairs, and past the mangled bodies of countless watchman, she slammed open the door to Hancock’s office. “I saved the best for last.” she half-whispered, her lips curling into a wicked grin.    
  
Hancock was bloodied, but alive, bound and writing against his restraints.    
  
“I never should have trusted you!” he growled. “You fucking sick bitch!”    
  
Lee knelt down beside him, her knife coming to level with an eye. “Never judge a book by its cover,  _ John _ .” she taunted. “The best books are the ones that seem so inviting, but always tear your heart out in the end.” she hummed. “Guess that metaphor is going to get a bit more literal in this case.”    
  
“You’re fucking deranged.” he spat. “I’d tell you to burn in hell, but I doubt the devil would burn.”    
  
The smile darkened as the blade slid into his eye with torturous slowness. “Scream for me, Johnny…”    
  
Lee shot out of bed, a raspy scream tearing from her own throat as she fell off onto the floor. Tears poured forth as she clutched herself, pain tearing through her, and the screams of her friend still ringing in her ears. “No, no, no, not John…” she mumbled, her voice thick as she sobbed in a heap. “You bastard, you fucking bastard-”    
  
“Enjoy the show, darling….” the voice,  _ his  _ voice flitted through her mind.    
  
“No, no this isn’t real. This isn’t real…”    
  
Lee didn’t return back to sleep, she couldn’t. Instead, she stayed shaking on the floor until the first light of dawn shown through her window. 


	6. The Silver Shroud Rises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahoy in this one.

The next day Lee was more or less holding herself together with duct tape. Images from the dream played in repeat, despite her best attempts to banish them, and when the sun had fully risen she just really wanted to see Hancock. 

Making her way to his office, she tried to keep the panic from rising as she pushed the door open, almost expecting the dream to reappear. She released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding upon seeing the man himself, sat upon the couch. A small stack of papers sat in front of him, and he didn’t look up when she entered.    
  
“Hancock I- did you, sleep well?” she asked, her voice wavering only slightly. 

He still didn’t look towards her, and her heart sank even lower. Fear that last night had ruined everything flooded her, and she felt the urge to cry all over again. 

“Huh, yeah I guess,” he mumbled in reply. “Hey, I’m uh- kinda busy today, you know...mayoral shit.” 

Lee felt herself caving. “Um, yeah. I’ll- yeah, see you around then.” 

He hummed in response, but never looked her way. 

She made her way outside, contemplating just running away to find Nick and Nate, but they would assume something was up. Lee took a deep breath and forced a calm face, as she made her way back to the Memory Den.    
  
With a greeting to Irma, she turned and made her way through the first door on the right.    
  
“You got the memory pod loaded up- oh!” Kent Connolly’s voice chimed. “Hey, I heard you were back in town, and Irma said you’d been through some bad memories downstairs.”    
  
Lee smiled, trying no to picture his battered face, as she walked over to him to take a seat. “Yeah, I’d have come by sooner, but duty called. Speaking of, how’s that secret project of yours coming?”    
  
Kent deflated. “It’s a bust, Lee. I thought that maybe I could really bring the Silver Shroud to life, but I can’t even find anyone will to fetch the costume, let alone fight crime.”    
  
Kent had such a dejected look on his face, like a kid whose dreams just got crushed. She couldn’t bear to see him down. Plus she needed something, anything to occupy her. “Well shit, in that case, I’ll get it for you,” she promised.    
  
The pre-war ghouls face lit up with surprise. “You-you will? I don’t want it to be a burden on you.”    
  
The merc waved him off with a smile. “I’ve got nothing going on for the week, why not? Let’s fight crime.”    
  
Kent smiled widely. “You’re the best, really. The costume is over at Hubris Comics, they were filming the pilot episode before the bombs fell. I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”    
  
“No thanks required, Kent. I’ll be back before sundown.”    
  
-   
  


Hubris Comics was eerily quiet when Lee slowly made her way inside. Light from the windows did little to light the darkest corners, and she didn’t dare to turn on a flashlight. A floorboard creaked underfoot and she winced, the sudden sound of slapping flesh and groaning broke the silence.    
  
Ferals.    
  
In the dim haze, she saw at least 3 stagger to their feet, hobbling around to find the source of the disturbance. She kept her sidearm ready as she slowly shifted behind the counter in an attempt to sneak around them. What she didn’t plan on was one crawling out from under said counter. 

The bloodcurdling rasp cut through the air as it latched a withered hand around her ankle. Lee jerked in surprise triggering an old cymbal monkey. She cursed aloud and fired into the ferals brain, it released her but its friends were launching themselves towards the counter, now fully aware of her presence.    
  
She fired precisely, their garbled death gasps fading into quiet once more. Though creaking and alerted groaning upstairs told her there were many more to contend with. Holstering her gun she pulled out her knives in hopes of keeping the rest of this visit as stealthy as possible. She crept upstairs and peered through the broken door into a large center room; five ferals shuffled around, having been awoken by the commotion downstairs. She pushed open the door and came up behind one, he knife burying itself into the base of its skull. It choked, fluid filling its throat preventing it from making much sound. She laid it down quietly and snuck into the adjacent room, quickly dispatching the ghouls within.    
  
“Hello…” she whispered a smile breaking her lips, as a signed photograph caught her eye. “Oh, Kent will go nuts for this.”    
  
She hastily stowed the photo and moved to clear the second floor, and eventually the third with relative ease.    
  
She waited at the base of the final staircase listening to see if she could tell how many waited above. Creeping up she saw at least three and moved to dispatch them.    
  
When the final feral was dead she let out a laugh. “Whoo, Kent is going to be damn happy to see you,” she said as she stopped to remove the costume from the staged mannequin. She peeled the coat off and knocked the whole thing over. It fell with a clatter and rolled a few paces as Lee swore. “Motherfucker, can’t even undress a fucking plastic dude right. I’m outta practice.”

A screech echoed from behind her, and she turned too late to dodge the feral that lept at her. A shout left her throat as it threw her to the ground, it writhed atop her, teeth-gnashing and saliva dripping down onto her.    
  
Lee grunted as she tried to force it off, a hand trying to reach for her knife and keep it from tearing into her at the same time.    
  
Before she could register the shift, the ghoul was thrown off of her and a loud gunshot echoed through the room. Lee was breathing heavily as she scrambled to her feet, her knife now drawn.    
  
“I let you outta my sight for 10 seconds and you almost become another ghouls dinner.” Hancock’s voice chuckled.    
  
Lee relaxed and holstered her knife. “I had it handled,” she said irritably. 

“Handled? If you wanted a ghoul on toppa ya all you had to do was ask.” he joked.    
  
Lee growled in frustration as she finished undressing the mannequin. “Really, Hancock? I figured after last night I wouldn’t have to ask, but you made it quite clear that you’re all talk and no game.” she retorted without thinking. She rounded on him to see his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “Now, don’t you have mayoral duties or ‘some shit’ to attend to?”    
  
He tried to say something, but Lee stormed past him. “Lee stop, come’re…” she kept moving, she knew there was a hatch to the room on the other side of the room. It was at least an escape, but a hand wrapped tightly around her arm pulling her back. She swung, but with an armful of the costume, Hancock easily stopped her hit.    
  
“Lee stop, what the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.    
  
Lee’s eyes narrowed. “Last night I came back to you, and you blew me off. Then this morning you wouldn’t even look at me, I get it,  _ John _ , you have better things to do.” Lee sneered. “Now let me go.”    
  
Hancock shook his head, but his grip didn’t waver. “Jesus Lee, what, you think  _ I  _ don’t want  _ you _ ? Are you fucking nuts?”    
  
“You did not just call me that, you... you fucking jerky pirate.” Lee fumbled. “You know what, fuck you. Let me go.”    
  
He bit back a laugh. “Never been called that before. But Lee, seriously, come on, you really, honestly fucking think that?”    
  
“You’ve been ignoring me all morning, Hancock. Not to sound fucking petulant, but that kind of makes it seem like that.” she shot. “And I get it. I’m no fucking Magnolia over here. Hancock just let me go.”    
  
Hancock sighed and released her. “Lee, we’d been drinking, and doing god knows how many hits of jet. What happened last night, after everything got sorted with the mutants, and I sobered up, I thought you woulda too.”    
  
“So you’re saying it was a drunken mistake?” Lee asked incredulously. “You’re a real fucking-”   
  
“Yes! On your part, Lee! I thought you’d have sobered up and realized that I-” he faltered. “I’m not someone you’d wanna waste your time with.” he finished, his eyes not meeting hers and his voice lowered.    
  
This caught her off guard and her scowl faltered a bit. “What? What the hell are you talking about?” 

He turned away from her. “You’re right, I’m all talk and no game. I flirt, it’s what I do, but with you… I don’t want to ruin what we already have. Trust me, not hauling your ass to my bed last night was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but what if you’d have woken up and realized-”    
  
“And realized what, John?” Lee pressed, her own voice softer now, and confusion evident on her face.   
  
He turned to look at her finally, his eyes pleading as he waved a hand in front of his face. “Lee, come on, I’m a damn ghoul and you’re, well damn,” he confessed. “You don’t wanna wake up to this mug in the morning, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone I’ve ever cared about.”    
  
Lee’s breathing hitched, and her heart seemed to catch in her throat. “John, if I ever didn’t want to wake up next to you, it would be because I’m royally pissed at you, and even then I’d probably just be too stubborn to admit that I’d actually want to.” she grabbed him and pulled him closer to herself. “Don’t begin to assume who I want to fall for.”   
  
Hancock let out a nervous chuckle. “I-well… shit.” his arm wrapped around her waist allowing her to lean more into him. “You sure about this?”    
  
“I’m tired of being alone, John,” she confessed. “And, you’re my kind of trouble.”    
  
—

Lee was in much higher spirits as she and Hancock strode back into Goodneighbor. Daisy shot her a thumbs up from her storefront, and this time she didn’t bother to hide her smile.    
  
“You go have fun with Kenny boy, but tonight you’re all mine,” he whispered into her ear before departing with a chuckle into the State House. Lee tried to remain upright, and scolded herself for feeling like a swooning damsel, as she willed her feet to carry her to the Den. 

She entered Kent’s room with a small knock. “Good news, Kent!” she said in a sing-song voice while holding up the costume.    
  
Kent’s eyes were wide, and he seemed momentarily dumbstruck. “You got it? You-you actually got it!” he stammered. “You’re the best!”    
  
Lee delighted in the man’s enthusiasm and childlike wonder. “I even was able to snag a few other goodies for you.”    
  
He looked near to fainting as she handed him the signed photo and holotype script. “Memorabilia too? You really are something else.” 

Lee settled back in the seat across from him. “Just glad I can make you smile, Kent.”    
  
Had Kent the ability he’d have blushed. “Thanks, Lee. Really, you’re a great friend.” he looked down at the costume in his hands. “You feel up to taking on the mantle of Shroud? I know after all you’ve done, it sounds too much to ask but-”    
  
“Kent, don’t worry yourself, I’d be honored to bring the Shroud to life.” Lee insisted. “On the condition that you’ll be Rhett Reinhart, of course,” she added with a smile.    
  
“This really means a lot to me,” he replied, he seemed near tears, and Lee had the extreme urge to hug him. 

A voice sighed in her mind. “You’re getting soft on me, Valkyrie. And, you can’t have fun with a softy.” 

Lee maintained a passive face as she went to change into the outfit.   
  
Once she’d changed, Kent outfitted her with his very own modified machine gun, complete with silver finish, and supplied her with calling cards he’d hand-drawn himself. 

She walked out of the Den and kept an ear to her small portable radio which Kent was broadcasting on. It didn’t take long before the first call came through.    
  
The hit was on a man named Wayne Delancy, accused of murder. Lee felt it was kind of ironic that she was basically doing her usual job, except this time she wasn’t getting paid and got to dress up and talk like a pre-war superhero. Despite the lack of caps, she had to admit it was fun. Walking past a few snickering watchmen, she entered into the alley where Wayne was supposed to be, she saw him hunched over another dead body.    
  
“Wayne Delancy, the time has come to answer for your crimes,” Lee called dramatically. “At the hands of... THE SILVER SHROUD!”    
  
The man just stared at her. “The fuck are you supposed to be?”    
  
“The Silver fucking Shroud, dumbass,” she responded deadpan as she quickly shot him. “Jesus, keep up.”    
  
With a chuckle, she dropped a card on his body and managed to snag all the caps he had on him. 

“Stop a murderer, with murder. Poetic justice.” the voice chimed, and Lee tried to ignore it.   
  


A few minutes after a call came in for a man called AJ, a chem dealer who operated by Bobbi’s old place, according to Kent he’d started marketing his goods to children. As much as Lee didn’t mind chems, and indulged in them herself, even she drew a hard line at intentionally selling to kids, especially when, according to Kent, his products had been known to kill people.    
  
She made her way down the familiar alley and found AJ and two lackeys standing by.    
  
AJ snorted when he saw her. “Hey, look at the clown. This is my turf clown, and I don’t appreciate… whaddya call em’s? Trespassers.”    
  
“You the shitlord who’s peddling chems to children?” Lee questioned with a scowl.    
  
He laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah. That’s me. I’m an… uh…”    
  
“Use your word big boy, we ain’t got all day.” Lee interrupted.    
  
He scowled. “An entrepreneur,” he growled. “Making a new market. Chems for Kids, I call it.”    
  
“Funny, I was thinking of starting my own business too, it’s called Justice for Jackasses, and I think you’re my first client.” 

Holiday’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Creative. Though I’m thinking Killing for Kent, is more accurate. You know, because he’s too pathetic to do this himself.”    
  
“Shut up.” Lee under her breath. 

  
AJ frowned confused. “Uh… I don’t get it.”    
  
“Jesus, all you idiots are slower than a two-legged brahmin,” Lee grumbled, before clearing her throat. “It’s time to face your justice at the hands of…. THE SILVER SHROUD!”    
  
AJ wasn’t impressed. “Did Kent put you up to this? Whatever,” he gestured to his men. “Waste the freak.”    
  
Lee jumped back behind the wall and loosed a bullet into AJ before ending his two henchmen.    
She dropped a card on him and took his caps. While going through his pockets she pulled out a canister of jet that had a poorly draw paper wrapper displaying a cherry smiley face, underneath the crude illustration was the word Cherry-Jet. The mentats, likewise, had a poorly drawn face blowing bubblegum plastered on the tin, with the word Bubble-tats.   
  
“What a fucking idiot,” Lee muttered. 

Before Lee could even leave the alley, Kent’s voice cut into the radio. A woman, Kendra, who’d apparently blown up a shack, killing four drifters, had been recently spotted at the Third Rail. Kent also informed all listening that if they wanted to see the Shroud in action they should head to the bar. Lee had to smile; if Kent was happy she was happy.    
  
Magnolia’s soothing voice filled her ears as she made her way to the ornery barkeep.    
  
“Hey, Charlie.” Lee greeted, but the robot wasn’t having it.    
  
“You look like one of them wankers from the posters. Whatcha wearin’ that for?” 

She cleared her throat and replied in character. “You look upon… THE SILVER SHROUD!” she noticed a few of the patrons snicker at her display. She leaned against the bar. “And I’m seeking a miscreant named Kendra.”    
  
“Shroud? More like a nutter. Kendra is not one to be trifled with. People who mess with her have a habit of being found face down in a ditch. If you’re set on meeting her, for a fee… it can be arranged.”    
  
Lee frowned at the robot. “Charlie, really? Come on, just tell me where she is so I can put two in her head.” Lee grumbled lowly.    
  
“Oh, you mean to end her? Well, in that case, she’s just south of Goodneighbor, Water Street apartments. Look out for the blighters she’s got with her though. Nasty piece of business that. Good luck.”    
  
Lee thanked him and rolled her eyes as she headed out, but not before flashing a wink towards Magnolia, who returned the gesture in kind. 

Inside of Water Street, the foretold goons were lounging about, obviously comfortable in their dingy surroundings. Lee killed them all quickly.    
  
Upstairs she used more caution she took out the turret at the end of the hall and heard a woman shout from the room beside it. “What the fuck!? You useless assholes…” her voice got closer as Lee slid up against the wall next to the door. “Stop shooting in the hous-” She stepped out of the doorway and Lee quickly shot two through her skull. As promised.    
  
Lee tisked as she dropped a card on Kendra. “For a feared assassin, you got way too comfortable.” she criticized. “Moron.”    
  
Once she was back in Goodneighbor a watchman stopped her. “Hey you, Mayor requests an audience.”    
  
Lee snorted. “Of course he does.” she thanked the guard and heading into the State House.    
  
She found Hancock laid back on his preferred sofa, a canister of jet twisting idly in his fingers.    
  
“Guess what someone tells me? Some costumed freak is operating in Goodneighbor,” he said, as she entered. “And the kicker is, it ain’t me.” he turned with a smile. “How should I feel about this?”    
  
Lee smirked over at him and moved to sit beside him. “It’s my way of campaigning for mayor, you better watch out.”    
  
He laughed and reached over to knock her hat off. “You’re priceless, Luv. Never change.”    
  
Lee reached over and stole his jet while he continued. “Word has it you’ve been busy, bashing in a few faces, scaring people. I respect that.”    
  
“Glad you approve, John. Seriously though, I’m campaigning.” he smacked her with her hat, causing her to laugh.    
  
“You stop that. But in all seriousness, those low-lives you took out for our boy Kent, they’re all players for the same asshole. And I gotta warn you, babe, that asshole is planning some good old-fashioned revenge.”    
  
Lee grinned. “This day just keeps looking up.” 

“This guy is bad news, Sinjin’s the name. He’s taken two-bit raider outfits and made them… scary.” Hancock replied, his voice serious.    
  
She frowned at his concern. “Alright. What do you have on him?”    
  
“Leveled a few farms, napalmed his own men just to end a couple of enemies, but aside from all the dark shit he’s done, no one knows nothing. I get the feeling that if he isn’t dealt with now, in a few years it may take a damn army to end him.”    
  
“And I’m in a position to take him out,” Lee replied, her words echoing their earlier conversations regarding Bobbi. 

He looked at her, and his brow creased. “Yea-ah, shit.” he paused shaking his head. “Lee I’m sorry about-”    
  
“John, it’s literally my job-”    
  
“No, but, you’re my- well you’re- fuck. Look, I care about you, I do, and apparently I have the shittiest ways of showing it.”    
  
Lee laughed softly and cupped his face. “I can think of a few other ways to show me.” she hinted, and he grinned. “But really I get it. If you get involved it could implicate all of Goodneighbor. I got this, don’t worry.” 

“Alright, alright. I trust you, babe.” he leaned closer. “Now how about we stop talking about this depressing shit, and I show you exactly how much I… care, heh.”    
  


The fire in Lee’s stomach erupted anew. “If you can spare the time away from your mayoral duties…” she responded.    
  
“Luv, for you I got all the time in the world.” 

Hancock led her across the hall to his quarters, and wasted no time shoving her down on the mattress, his tongue exploring her mouth as she moaned into his. Lee bucked her hips up to grind against his evident arousal. She needed him, needed to feel every inch of him filling her.    
  
He seemed to be of a similar mind as he quickly made haste at removing her costume, leaving her only clothed in her underwear. He grinned down at her, “You are a sight, babe.”    
  
Lee hummed. “Yeah, but you, my dear, are still wearing too much.” a devious thought crossed her mind, and she smirked up at him. “Strip for me,  _ John, _ ” she instructed. 

The ghoul chuckled low in his throat. “As long as you promise not to go running out on me-”    
  
“The way I want this night to end is with you buried inside of me,  _ John _ . I’m not going anywhere.” she insisted, her voice husky. “Now strip.”    
  
With an answer like that he could have cum on the spot.    
  
Lee leaned back, supported by her elbows as the man in front of her removed his jacket, before slowly lifting his shirt over his head. She hummed with approval, her eyes drinking in every new stretch of exposed skin. His fingers deftly removed the flag he used as a belt, tossing it aside, before undoing his pants. With what seemed like a deliberately agonizing slowness, he slid them down exposing his striking arousal. He held out his arms with a grin. “You like what you see?”    
  


Lee swore she’d never been wetter in her life. “I’m loving what I see.” she corrected, beckoning to him to join her. “Now, let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?”    
  
He needed no convincing, his hands instantly moving to remove her own undergarments, casting them aside. “With pleasure, baby.”    
  
His lips found the skin of her inner thigh and resumed precisely where they’d left off. Lee’s stomach knotted with anticipation and her heartbeat loudly against her ribs. When his tongue finally came to trace her seam she moaned, her whole body jerking at the contact. “So wet, Luv. All for me?”    
  
Lee barely managed out a response, and he chuckled against her, causing more writhing. “Luckiest ghoul in the commonwealth.”    
  
Slowly he slid two fingers inside, moving them in sync as his tongue circled her clit, and his lips suckled her into delirium.    
  
“John, John, please…”    
  
Another laugh, throaty and filled with lust. “Cum for me, Luv.”    
  
She didn’t need to be told as his fingers messaged in just the right spot to throw her over the edge. Crying out she grasped at his shoulder, her nails biting into his textured flesh.    
  
He slid up her body to capture her lips, her own juices mixing with their saliva in a heated kiss.    
  
“You ready for me, Luv?” he breathed against her ear, as she tried to calm her breathing.    
  
Lee nodded as best she could. “John, please. I need you, now.”    
  
He planted a single kiss to the shell of her ear before rubbing his leaking tip against her folds. “I’m all yours.”    
  
He slid into her slowly, the feeling causing both of them to moan. He was thick, and the texture was unlike anything she’d had before. The sensation was unraveling her all over again.    
  


He set a slow, excruciating pace, his length teasing her, in and out, in and out.    
  
“John please, please harder…” Lee pleaded, begging him to fuck her until she couldn’t remember any name but his.    
  
He obliged, “You like it like that, babe? Huh? Oh, I knew you were a dirty girl…” he growled with a smirk, as he thrust deeper and faster into her, causing her to scream, not giving any thought to the watchmen who undoubtedly could hear them her.    
  


“You like getting fucked like this, Luv?” he whispered into her ear before moving to bite and suck at her neck.    
  
‘Yes, John, yes, don’t stop.” she managed out between gasps of breath.    
  
He laughed against her throat, not once wavering in his pace. His free hand grasped her hair, pulling her head back further to expose more flesh. He bit down hard and relished as she gasped and writhed beneath him.    
  
“You’re mine now, sunshine. And I’m going to make sure everyone in Goodneighbor knows it,” he promised. “You. Are. Mine.” he punctuated each word with a particularly deep thrust that sent her spiraling, screaming his name.    
  
“I’m yours, John. Yours… John.” she stammered out.    
  
The bedframe slammed against the wall, as his thrusts got more and more sporadic, his own climax catching up to him.    
  
“Fill me, John. Fill me, please, John…” she begged, her throat dry and her voice ragged from panting.    
  
That finished him. Lee could feel the hot spurts of his cum as they filled her to bursting. John collapsed, rolling to the side of her, his arms holding her to him. His own breathing was ragged, and his heart thudded loud enough for Lee to hear against his chest.    
  
Moments passed in this comfortable embrace, time seemed slow, yet the high was 10 times better than any induced by jet.    
  
“You okay, sunshine?” John finally managed to ask. His voice sounding extra raspy from exertion.    
  
“I’m the best I’ve been in a long time, John. Thank you.”    
  
He chucked into her hair. “The pleasure is all mine babe. Well, hopefully, it was good for you too but- alright, that’s enough running my mouth.” 

  
Lee laughed against his chest. “Don’t stop, John. I love hearing your voice,” she confessed, her eyelids drooping on their own accord.    
  
“Heh, I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, luv.” he murmured. “But you’re the best damn thing that’s ever happened to me.” 


	7. A Valkyrie's Vengence

Lee groaned and slowly opened her eyes to see dark black ones staring back at her. Hancock smiled nervously, feeling his self-consciousness well up inside him. “Morning, Sunshine.”    
  
“Morning, handsome,” she mumbled, burying her face against his chest, feeling him chuckle against her.    
  
“Heh, that’s a new one,” he replied, his arms shifting to hold her tighter as he kissed her hair. “Why don’t we just stay here… all day…” he mused.    
  
Lee groaned again. “I wish, I really do. But I want to finish this shit with Sinjin before we have to meet back up with Nick and Nate.” 

Now it was his turned to groan in protest. “Babe, I really don’t want you going this alone…”    
  
“I do jobs like this alone all the time.” she pulled away from him and propped herself up on an elbow, but his face was still lined with concern. 

An idea struck her. “Okay, I’ll take MacCready then.”

Hancock scoffed. “That’s a hell of a gun to have watching your back.”    
  
“John, he helped with info on my last contract, he’s a good guy-”

He interjected. “He’s an ex-gunner-”    
  
“Ex, being the keyword. Trust me if you won’t trust him, okay?” she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.    
  
“Alright, just come back to me. And I don’t want any missing pieces, ya hear?” he ordered with a small smirk.    
  
-   
  
Begrudgingly the pair got dressed, Lee slipping into the Silver Shroud costume once more. When she exited the room all the watchmen stationed on the floor turned to grin at her knowingly. She shot them all a thumbs up before heading down to talk to MacCready.    
  
The gun for hire was in his usual station in the back of the third rail, he greeted her with a laugh when she entered.    
  
“Playing dress-up? Almost makes me miss Little Lamplight.” he joked. 

  
  


Lee laughed with him. “From mayor to mercenary, oh how the mighty fall.” she playfully jabbed.    
  
MacCready snorted. “Yeah well, being mayor of a bunch of kids isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But I’m taking it this isn’t a social call, and here I thought we were friends.” 

“I paid you 250 caps and you gave me information over a beer.” Lee responded with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk.    
  
The other merc shrugged. “And we talked about the Capital Wastes, it’s a nice change of pace to know someone from back home. Anyway, you got a job for me?”    
  
“Two targets Smiling Kate and a guy named Northey-”

“Dumb names.” Mac snorted.    
  
“Yeah well, they work for a bastard named Sinjin and he’s the real target. According to Hancock, we have to take down these two to get the big dog to come out and play,” she explained, crossing her arms over her chest.

MacCready stood up and stretched. “Sinjin huh, big game. Alright, I’m in. 250 caps upfront.”    
  
Lee scowled. “What happened to that ‘we’re friends’ garbage?”    
  
“Caps make the world go round, gotta make a living somehow, and you’re my first job in too long,” he replied.    
  
“125 upfront the other when Sinjin is in the dirt.” Lee haggled.    
  
MacCready sighed. “So much for friendship-”    
  
“You’re so full of shit!” Lee laughed, a smile breaking on her lips as she playfully smacked his arm. 

-

Lee and MacCready headed out from Goodneighbor heading north towards Bunker Hill. The route was thankfully devoid of much excitement and they talked about different jobs they’d done and all the fucked up shit the Capital Wastes had to offer. It was nearing noon when the large white obelisk came into view. 

“Any idea where to start looking for these goons?” Mac asked as they approached the gate. 

Lee had considered asking the people inside the settlement, seeing as they had paid deals with raiders and would probably know where to begin looking, but the sight of polished green combat armor down the street caught her eye. They couldn’t seriously be that dumb, could they?

“I guess Hancock wasn’t generalizing when he said ‘outside of Bunker Hill’.” Lee shook her head at their stupidity. Swinging her rifle around she brought the scope to her eye, checking out the semi-circle of raiders who were all listening to a woman in front of them talk.    
  
“They’re practically lining up to be shot.” she snorted with a smirk. “Hey Mac, you up for a  _ friendly _ contest?”

Her fellow mercenary grinned, exposing long-neglected, discolored teeth. “Oh hel-heck yes.” he lifted his own rifle, still smiling. “I win, you owe me double the caps. Deal?”    
  
“Deal.” 

Mac didn’t waste any time firing the first shot and lining up to make another. The raiders all panicked, drawing their own weapons. She landed a bullet through Smiling Kate’s head, before the woman could turn around.   
  
1 for Mac, 1 for Lee. 

3 targets remaining. Both mercs fired with hard-learned precision. It was nearly over before it began.

2-2   
  
“I got this one!” the both yelled in unison as twin bullets tore through the final raider. 

They both lowered their guns and narrowed their eyes towards the other. “I so shot him first.” MacCready insisted.    
  
Lee slung the rifle across her back. “Fairly certain that one was mine, Mac,” she responded.

The pair walked over to the body and Lee dropped a card on Smiling Kate’s body.   
  
“Not smiling so much anymore. We should fix that... like they do in Glasgow.” Holiday mused in her head. She could almost feel his twisted glee and repressed a shudder as she and MacCready looted the rest of the bodies.

The next stop was Prospect Hill, and if Northey was half the strategist Kate had been, this venture would be over sooner than anticipated. On the way there Lee questioned her companion.    
  
“I get the feeling that you’re more than just some greedy merc, who’s just out for himself,” she commented. “I’ve seen real greed MacCready, and I’m just not getting that from you.”    
  
The sniper scoffed beside her. “There are few things more important than caps in this world. You’d have to be crazy to pass any up.” 

“So it’s pragmatism?” she quirked an eyebrow. 

MacCready rolled his eyes. “It pays to be practical.” he turned the questioning on her. “Hancock told me about the vault boy-”   
  
“Nate.” she corrected, with a sidelong glance at him.    
  
“Okay, yeah, Nate. Why’re you so dead set on helping him find his kid? You spent your own caps outfitting him, and for what?” 

  
“For the chance to get back a kid that didn’t deserve to be kidnapped.” Lee stopped. “You of all people should understand what it’s like to have a past you’re not proud of, Mac.” she jabbed. “Mercenaries never have spotless histories-” 

  
“So it’s some kind of redemption thing?” he drawled, coming to stop as well his arms crossed over his shoulder.    
  
Lee took a breath and ran a hand through her hair. “Redemption is for storybook heroes, and I’m the furthest thing from that. But if his kid is still alive, and there’s a chance we can save him, I’m going to do everything possible to make that happen,” she responded resolutely. 

His brow furrowed in confusion. “But why-?”   
  
“Because who knows what kind of hell the Institute could put a child through! I know hell. I grew up in the wastes, on my own, since I was 11 years old. Some of us didn’t have a home, or friends or family. While you were playing mayor, I was learning to survive, learning to kill bastards who thought it would be easy to take advantage of a small girl in the ruins.” she shot. “No kid deserves to be torn from their family.” 

For a moment they just stared at each other. MacCready’s eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly agape as she glowered at him.    
  
“I-” he hung his head and scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. It took a moment before he looked back up at her, his face tired. “My son, Duncan. He’s sick back in D.C. all the caps I get go to him. That’s why I’m such a tight ass- shoot, a tightwad, about caps.” 

Lee’s scowl fell. “Shit, I’m sorry, Mac.” he waved her off. 

“I’m not looking for charity. I came to the Commonwealth for the money, and possibly a cure. Daisy knows, she sends the funds back, but other than that…” he paused with a sigh. “You’re the only other person who knows now.”    
  
Guilt bloomed in her chest. “Well, thanks for telling me, Mac. Sorry for, you know-”    
  
“Nah, you’re right. For all intents and purposes, I had it pretty good in Little Lamplight. Plus, I kind of deserved it. No hard feelings.” a small smile quirked his lips.    
  
-

Northey’s crew was bigger, and more spread out. MacCready opted to take to the rooftops, while Lee hit them from the ground. Stealthily, she was able to knife a couple of men before the others caught on.    
  
A bullet took off the head of a raider to her left, and she caught sight of one running the opposite direction. Probably their target.    
  
Coward. 

“They just don’t make’em like they used too.” Holiday’s voice sighed. “Hopefully, he’ll trip. He’s already embarrassing himself.” 

She took aim and fired through his left thigh. He fell with a shout of pain. As his crew fell around him Lee stalked over to him, watching as he tried to crawl away. A bullet through the other thigh stopped him for good.    
  
He cried out, panting, turing to face her. “Where is Sinjin?” Lee questioned darkly.    
  


A wet laugh left the dying man’s throat. “I- I think the better question is… where is your pal, Kent?” 

Her heart sank, and a rage boiled in her gut. She slammed her foot down on his knee, shattering it. “What did you do? Where is Kent?”    
  
The raider spat at her, “I ain’t tellin you shit. I’m already a dead man.” She whipped out her knife at his defiance. 

“Oh, you’re a deadman alright, but you’re going to wish death had come sooner.”    
  
MacCready heard the screams from the rooftops down the street. 

-

Lee rejoined with the sniper, who didn’t comment on the blood soaking her hands and cloths.    
  
“They have Kent,” she growled. “We have to get back to Goodneighbor.”    
  
His eyes widened with surprise. “How did they manage to get in Goodneighbor without Hancock noticing and tearing them a new one?” 

She shook her head already starting back towards the town, “No fucking idea.”

MacCready hurried after her worry creasing his own face.    
  
\- 

They made it to Goodneighbor in record time and burst through the gates, Lee ran through the streets and into the Memory Den, the door slamming loudly as she did. Irma let out a startled screech as she burst in. Hancock spun around gun raised, but lowered it with sad eyes as she stalked over to them.    
  
“Where is Kent?” she questioned loudly, her voice shaking.    
  
Irma shook her head, drying tears on her face. “Oh sugar, they took him. Raiders with bloodlust in their eyes. We couldn’t stop them-”    
  
Lee rounded on Hancock. “The fuck you mean  _ you  _ couldn’t stop them?!” she all but shouted. “Where the fuck  _ were _ you!?”    
  
The ghoul looked like she’d just slapped him. “Gunner’s in the old Mass Fusion building were taking shots at the town. Fahr, me, and a group of watchmen went to clear them,” he explained, he shook his head. “It was a fucking distraction, sister. If I’d have known…”    
  
“Where did they take him?” Lee cut him off.    
  
Irma spoke up. “Milton General Hospital. It’s to the south, and west of Jamaica Plain-”   
  
Lee turned and grabbed MacCready, who’d followed her in. “Come on. We don’t have time to waste.” 

“Lee damn it-” Hancock started. “Wait, you can’t do this with just the two of you. I’m coming-”    
  
“Stay here and try to make sure no one else gets taken.” she shot, too filled with rage to care about her cold words.    
  
He stepped back, his eyes staring back at her, his hurt evident.    
  
She didn’t wait before storming out the door and out of the town.    
  
-

Milton Hospital was flanked by Fallon's Department Store and a subway station. Both were filled with super mutants. Thankfully, coming from the north, they were able to head straight to the unguarded hospital without drawing their attention. 

The inside of the building, as withevery pre-war abandoned building, was lined with garbage, and filled with broken junk. The bottom floor was guarded by three dim-witted lackeys and Lee didn’t hesitate to swiftly shoot them down before they even knew death was coming for them. 

The pair headed upstairs, which led them down to another level, and over to another. Lee was getting increasingly angry the longer it took. Kent could have already been killed for all she knew. The image of his bloodied face flashed behind her eyes, and she growled aloud as she unloaded into the final contingent guarding the final elevator. 

MacCready didn’t say anything. He’d barely gotten off any shots on their journey up here. He’d simply watched as Lee tore through the raider like a deathclaw tearing apart its prey. 

She punched the elevator button, seething as it slowly ascended and pinged. They entered in silence, the only sounds the creaks and mechanical whirls as it brought them down to face Sinjin.    
  
“Watch out Lee, your valkyrie is showing.” Holiday crooned in her mind.    
  
The grip on her rifle only tightened.    
  
With a final ping, the doors slid apart revealing a room filled with raiders, Sinjin himself stood atop a platform behind the beaten form of Kent, a gun leveled at the ghouls head. 

  
“So the Silver Shroud decides to make an appearance after all.” he jeered as she and MacCready stepped out.    
  
“The Silver Shroud is going to be the last thing you ever see if you don’t let Kent go.” she threatened, her eyes locked on him. In her mind, she calculated how long it would take for her to raise her rifle and take the shot, and if she could make it before he fired at her friend.    
  
“My guys think you’re some kind of spectre, walked right out of a comic book. But you and I both know your human, and that you’re weak.” 

MacCready turned, hearing the elevator behind him shut as return upstairs. He frowned, hoping they weren’t about to be flanked. Lee was oblivious, her only focus was on Sinjin.

Her heart hammered in her chest, both fear for her friend, and unbridled anger coursing through her. “The true mark of a weak man is holding a defenseless hostage instead of facing his opponent directly. You’re the weak one, Sinjin.” she taunted. “Too scared to face me yourself so you hide behind Kent as a shield. What kind of strength is that?”    
  
The armored ghoul snarled. “You want to see strength Shroud? I’m going to kill you, and then I’m going to kill Kent.” he moved away from Kent, and down the steps towards her. “And then, I’m going to go into Goodneighbor and I’m going to kill every worthless piece of trash there-” 

“Hey, be careful who you’re calling trash.” a gravelly voice interrupted as the elevator doors slid back open. “You’re breaking my fucking heart.”

Sinjin’s eyes narrowed. “Waste them!”    
  
Lee fell out of the way, her bullet grazing the side of her target as he fired. A minigun whirled from somewhere to her left, but her focus was purely on Sinjin. She threw her gun to the side and rushed at him, twin blades drawn. She ducked beneath his fire, shouldering him back, using the force to grapple him to the floor, as his men fell around him. He twisted, a fist slamming across her jaw. The blood that filled her mouth from the force was promptly spat back in his face causing him to reactively reach up. Not wasting time, she slammed her knife up into his jaw, the blade coming through into his agape mouth. He choked, as she withdrew it.    
  
“I told you I’d be the last thing you’d ever see.” she hissed, as his eyes widened with fear, blood filling his throat stopping him from breathing. He coughed spraying speckles of crimson across the raging mercenaries face. “Now, let me lead you to hell.”    
  


The knife plunged into his throat, a fountain of blood pooling around him. He stopped struggling and fell limp, eyes still open in terror.    
  
Breathing raggedly she stood up slowly, a hand wiping at the blood on her face.    
  
A slow clap filled her brain, and the image of Holiday grinning darkly. “And so the Valkyrie claims another soul.”    
  


Her eyes shut tightly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. A hand on her shoulder drew her from her reverie. “You alright, sister?”    
  
She turned to face Hancock and noticed Fahrenheit behind him, as well as two armed watchmen. 

“What the hell are you doing here, John?” Lee questioned.    
  
He tilted his head. “He fucked with Goodneighbor, personally. It only seemed right to have a hand in ending him. Send the message to anyone else who’s thinking of trying.” he explained, then lowered his voice. “You okay?”    
  
“I’ll be fine. Kent’s the one who needs help.”    
  
He followed her as she hurried to untie Kent and help him stand. “They didn’t hurt you too bad did they?” She asked, her stained face lined with concern.    
  
The ghoul was shaken and needed help to stand. “I- I was beaten, tortured. This-this isn’t like the radio plays at all.” he looked back at her sadly. “I quit, all of it.”    
  
“Hey now, Goodneighbor is just a bit safer thanks to the two of you. You guys did damn good.” Hancock spoke from near the stairs.    
  
Kent looked over at him sadly. “But we all could have died-”    
  
“But we’re not dead, not yet. Hancock is right, thanks to you we were able to take out Sinjin. He’d still be out there hurting people if it hadn’t been for your idea.” Lee said as he leaned against her. “Freedom and justice are seldom won without bloodshed. I’m proud of you, Kent.” she offered a smile. “I mean, the Silver Shroud is nothing without Rhett Reinhart by his side.”    
  
The ghoul smiled up at her. “Thanks, that- that means a lot to me.” 

She gave him a small squeeze in place of a hug. “Let’s get you home.” 


	8. The Past Always Catches Up

The trek back to Goodneighbor was slow, and once they were settled Lee headed down to the Third Rail to give MacCready his due. She walked into the VIP lounge and tossed a hefty bag of caps at him, which he caught with surprise.

“What’s this for?” he asked confused. 

Lee shrugged and lit up a smoke. “It’s what your due.” 

“Lee, there has to be well over 500 caps here,” he said deadpan. 

“And you earned each one.” she insisted, moving to lean against the far wall.    
  
MacCready sighed. “I told you, I don’t take charity-”    
  
“Shut it, Mac. That ain’t charity, it’s your pay,” she crookedly smiled. “And a bit extra as a gift from a friend.”    
  
He opened his mouth then closed it, not quite sure what to say. “I- thanks, Lee.”    
  
“Don’t mention it.”    
  
-

Kent was recovering with Amari, but at the end of the week was on his feet walking with a limp. Lee was immeasurably grateful that no lasting damage had been inflicted. Entering into the next week, Hancock and her went about planning for their trip into the glowing sea. He didn’t need protection, but he made sure to stock up on several bottles of rad-x and IV bags of rad-away for her. 

“As hot as you’d be as a ghoul, I’d rather you be safe.” he’d said.    
  
It was their final night in Goodneighbor and after an affection filled evening, Lee had fallen asleep in Hancock’s arms. She hadn’t really dreamed since the first night here, a solace she had been thankful for. Unfortunately, her luck had run out. 

The body fell in front of her, as she held her gun ready for whoever had saved her. Friend or foe.    
The D.C. ruins were dark around her and filled with haze. A dust storm, kicked up by high winds, forced the dead earth into the air around her.    
  
“Is it polite to raise a gun to your savior?” a voice called from in front of her, though she saw no form.    
  
“I had him handled. No one touches me…. Not anymore” she ground out lowly. Her hands began to shake and she tried to will them to be steady. 

A dark laugh echoes around her, seeming to come from everywhere at once. “Relax, if I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead.”    
  


A yell of surprise escaped her as a man materialize before her. “Hello Annabel.” he greeted, a Cheshire smile stretching his lips. “There are some people who are really interested in you, and I’m here to collect you.” 

She brought her rifle to his eye level. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” her voice betrayed her fear prompting another chuckle.    
  
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” 

Before she could react she was thrown back, her head connecting with the concrete below knocking her into blackness. 

Holiday hummed. “The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, went envying her and me— 

Yes!—” he recited as he leaned over her body. “That was the reason, as all men know, in this kingdom by the sea...That the wind came out of the cloud by night, chilling and killing my  _ Annabel Lee _ .”

Sounds of mechanical whirring filled her mind suddenly. Blips and beeps of a heart monitor splitting her head. Her eyes opened to blinding white light, people in white uniforms hurried around her.    
  
“Where, where am I?” I gasped out, her throat protesting as it felt filled with sand.    
  
An oxygen mask was placed over her face. She tried thrashing her tired limbs but restrains held them still. “Who are you-?” her eyes began to droop, as the voices blended together around her.    
  
“-not stable-” 

“-termination is recommended-”    
  
“-should scrap this project-” 

Lee jolted awake, her eyes meeting the dull light of dawn as Hancock jerked beside her startled awake himself.    
  


“Luv? Babe, what’s wrong? Bad dream?” he pulled her into him, an arm wrapped around her pulling her against his bare chest.    
  
She shook her head. “I- It was… I don’t know.”    
  
He pulled away enough to look at her. “Is it from that neural link?” he questioned, his eyes were filled with concern as she nodded. “Babe, you should see Amari-”    
  
“It’s probably nothing, really. I’ll be fine.” she insisted, not entirely sure that was true.    
  
He sighed, aware that arguing would get him nowhere, especially at this hour. “Alright Luv, I guess we should get ready anyway.” he conceded. “Don’t wanna keep Nicky and Nate waiting.” 

The got dressed and packed in relative silence. It was too early to give an official ‘I’m leaving’ speech, so Hancock settled for leaving that up to Fahrenheit; who didn’t seem happy, but she never really did anyway.

“Try not to get killed out there.” the bodyguard said by way of goodbye. “I don’t want to have to explain to the people that their esteemed mayor ran off and died in a hole somewhere.” 

Hancock half laughed. “You’re always so cheery in the morning, Fahr,” he noted sarcastically. “Just keep this place from setting itself on fire while I’m gone. Don’t start any turf wars, keep the mutants away, and keep an eye on Kenny boy, make sure he’s doing alright.”    
  
“Anything else, boss? You want me to cover the housekeeping too?” she retorted, her arms crossed as she glowered down at him.    
  
Hancock raised a brow. “Now that you mention it-”    
  
“You’re wasting daylight, Hancock. Go.” she cut him off, and turned into the Statehouse, slamming the door behind her.    
  


He turned to Lee with a grin. “She does not like mornings.” 

-

They only ran into one group of raiders before reaching Diamond City. Hancock donned his scarf disguise, and the guard, who they’d gotten stopped by before, shot him a sympathetic look. “Still no luck, pal?”    
  
Hancock feigned a hopeless tone. “Looks like no doctor can fix my kind of ugly…” 

Lee tried not to laugh as the guard gave him a pat on the back. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find someone who can look past your face. True love isn’t skin deep, pal” he assured before walking away leaving Lee and Hancock standing at the entrance awkwardly. 

Inside they made their way to Nick’s office to find the synth propped up at his desk looking tired.

“Hey Nick, you ready to get this freakshow on the road?” Hancock asked cheerily. 

Lee’s own smile dropped then Nick looked between them, his mouth is a sad line.    
  
“Nick, where’s Nate,” she asked. Hancock frowned as well, picking up on the detective’s uneasiness. 

The synth sighed and stood up. “He’s not here-”    
  
“No shit, Nick. Where the hell is he?” Hancock interrupted loudly. 

“He’s not dead if that’s what you’re getting at,” Nick responded, and Lee felt instantly relieved. “But he’s not with me, not anymore.” 

Lee leaned into the desk. “So what does that mean, Nick? Is he at Sanctuary?”    
  
“We never made it to Sanctuary.” he motioned for them to sit, which they begrudgingly did. Nick sat back down and folded his arms on the desk.    
  
“We got as far as Cambridge when we heard gunfire. Nate thought we should check it out, said that if it hadn’t been for you checking out Concord he wouldn’t have made it. There were swarms of ferals assaulting the police station-”    
  
“Everyone knows Cambridge and College Square is crawling with them,” Hancock said gruffly. “Who’d be dumb enough to try’n hole up there?”    
  
Nick leveled a look at him. “The Brotherhood of Steel.” 

Lee felt her stomach plummet, Nick carried on.    
  
“We helped them out before we knew who we were helping. The guy in charge, Paladin Danse, asked for assistance receiving some kind of transmitter at Arc-Jet. Nate agreed, asking questions the whole way there. When we’d finally gotten the device the guy offered Nate a chance to join.” Nick sighed. “You can guess the rest.” 

“Why the hell’d you let him go and do that!?” Hancock shot. “Hell, I’m surprised they didn’t shoot you on sight.” 

Nick hummed. “Trust me, they made it loud and clear that I was an abomination the whole time. And don’t think I didn’t try and talk him out of it. But the Paladin made offers he couldn’t turn down. Access to power armor, tech, and a whole army to take on the Institute with.”    
  
Lee stood up knocking the chair back from under her, as she turned to storm out the door. “This is ridiculous…” she growled. 

Hancock shot up and grabbed her arm. “Where the hell are you going now?” 

“The Airport. I’m going to get him back,” she said definitely. “Now, let go of me, you know I don’t like being grabbed.”    
  
“Lee, you can’t just wander into the Airport-” Nick said an incredulous look on his face. “There is nothing we can do. He left us, he made his choice.”

“But seeing as it is a stupid choice, I am electing to ignore it.” she took a breath and looked to John. “He doesn’t know this world, he doesn’t know what he’s just signed up for. John, please,” she said lowly. “I have to at least try. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”    
  
Hancock’s expression softened and he released her. “I- alright. Let’s go.” 

“Now hold on a moment,” Nick said standing again. “Hancock, your-”   
  
“A ghoul and they hate me, I’m aware.”    
  
Nick looked between them and shook his head. Standing up with a sigh he grabbed his coat off of the nearby rack. “Well, let’s not keep the firing squad waiting then.”   


-

“So a synth, a ghoul, and a human walk into an airport-”    
  
“Shut up, Hancock.”

The ghoul laughed as Nick glared unamused. 

“Stop right there! The Airport is under the command of the Brotherhood of Steel-” the Paladin pointed his minigun towards the approaching group. Lee cut off his spiel.    
  


“We’re from Diamond City, we wished to talk to Elder Maxson about a potential trade deal. Your soldiers will undoubtedly need resources and the Great Green Jewel is happy to provide.” Lee said cheerily as Hancock and Nick gaped at her. 

“We’re not in need of resources. Leave now or you will be removed.” the guard shot and Lee imagined shooting his face off from the top of the parking garage nearby. 

“Mayor McDonough will be most upset to hear-” she tried but was cut off as the minigun fired up.    
  
“Leave, civilian. At take your abominations with you.”    
  
Lee seethed and turned to grab Nick and Hancock. “Fucking brotherhood.” 

She hauled them out of sight and into the parking garage. “Did you really think that would work?” Hancock questioned confused. 

“No, but it gave me a look past the gate, and a look at the rotation schedule of the guards,” she said simply. “We sneak in at 11.” 

The sun slowly set as the hours ticked by too slowly for Lee’s taste. They would only have one shot at this, and in truth, it was risky and dangerous. But she needed to try. The Brotherhood corrupted everything, and she would not see it corrupt Nate.

The allotted time was nearly upon them and Lee stood up cracking her spine loudly.    
  
“Alright, time to nut up or shut up,” she said with a lopsided tired smile. 

Nick shook his head. “The three of us will draw too much attention. Hancock, you should stay-”

“Excuse you, circuit board? Why’re you throwing me under the bus. I ain’t leaving her alone with those assholes.” 

The synth sighed. “Fine. Lee, spare your rifle? I can keep watch up top.” he said. “-better shot than you anyway…” he added under his breath. 

  
Hancock laughed. “Oh, so you were programmed with humor, good to see you finally flipped that switch up your ass.” 

Lee just shook her head. “You’re both impossible. Alright, John come on.” 

“Ghouls are sneakier anyway…” he whispered loudly at Nick. The detective shook head and turned to leave, his lip quirked just a bit. 

Hancock and Lee slipped around the back of the airport, and entered a deserted room in the main terminal building as the guards rotated. This late, there was hardly anyone in the halls, which allowed them to move more freely. 

The Merc stepped out and took a left down the hallway. Lee grabbed Hancock and hit them behind a stack of crates as two bickering soldiers strode by.    
  
At the end of the hallway was a sign labeled ‘Barracks’. Lee cracked the door and peered inside, a couple of rows of darkened beds lined the walls, all occupants sleeping soundly.    
  
“Hancock? Lee? What are you doing here?” a hushed voice startled them both. They turned as Nate, clad in a Brotherhood Uniform strode towards them.    
  
“Well, we certainly ain’t looking to join up.” Hancock shot in a dark whisper. 

Lee shook her head as she took him in. “We came to get you, Nate. Trust me when I say that these are not the people you want to help you-”    
  
“They have the actual means to do it though, Lee!” he looked behind him. “Follow me, we can’t talk here, someone might see.” 

Once outside Nate leaned against the wall, a hand messaging his temple. “Look, guys, I appreciate this, I really do. But Maxson said-”    
  
“Maxson is here?” Lee’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck.” 

Hancock frowned, as did Nate. “Lee, what’s wrong with Maxson?” the former vaultie asked.

“He’s a fucking sadistic prick is what he is.” she ground out. “Who likes to-”

A rustling behind her caused her to turn sharply, only to receive a rifle butt to the head. The world swam for a minute as she fell backward. “It is fortunate that I care little for the opinions of a murderer.” a voice replied over her. 

“What the fuck?!” Hancock’s voice shouted, as her vision started to clear. Maxson loomed over her, his eyes boring into her own. “Good job, Knight. You are dismissed.” 

Lee shifted her head as Nate glanced at her sadly. 

“You fucking betrayed us?! You sorry son of a bitch! You don’t deserve to find your son- Ah fuck!” Hancock was thrown to the ground next to her. 

“You have crimes to answer for Valkyrie.” Maxson threatened. “Take them to the Prydwen.” 


	9. The Devil Himself

Lee and Hancock were thrown into a cell and handcuffed to opposite walls. She could still taste blood in her mouth, and her head was throbbing.    
  
“Well, I hope Nicky is planning a rescue party.” the ghoul said lowly. “You okay.” 

A sigh escaped her lips. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, John.” 

“Hey now, don’t talk like that. You were trying to help a friend or at least someone who you thought was your friend. Fucking bastard. I’ll gut him myself when we get out of this.” 

A dry laugh escaped her lungs. “We’re not getting out of this, John.” 

Before he could reply the door slammed open and Maxson stalked in. 

“Finally the mighty Valkyrie gets her wings clipped. Tell me, do you know how many people want your head back in D.C?” he jabbed, stopping to stand in front of Lee.    
  
“The fuck are you talking about?” John demanded.    
  
The Elder didn’t bother to look towards him. “Silence, abomination. Your time will come soon enough.”    
  
Lee threw herself at him, pulling at chains. “He’s got nothing to do with D.C. let him go.” she was rewarded with a slap across the face. She recoiled as John shouted behind him.

“You are not in a place to demand anything of me. You will answer for all the things you’ve done-”    
  
“She hasn’t fucking done anything!” John yelled. 

Maxson finally turned to him, and Hancock easy held his gaze without hesitation. “This woman is responsible for the murder of countless of civilians, as well as numerous Brotherhood soldiers at the Citadel. She detonated a nuclear warhead within a city.” Lee hung her head as Maxson continued. “In addition to her murders, she also stole valuable information from us, information that we will get back.” 

He turned back to Lee who felt her world burning around her. “Expect an interrogation officer to visit shortly.” 

With that, he left the room in silence. Lee could hear her heart beating in her chest as Hancock stared at the floor in front of her. She knew she had to say something, but all the strength she had was gone. 

“Tell me none of what he said was true.” his voice came, barely over a whisper.    
  
She couldn’t respond, a sickness filled her stomach. 

“Tell me you didn’t fucking blow up a city!” He shouted his voice like a knife in her chest. 

Lee forced her eyes to look towards him. “Yes! Yes, I did! Alright?!” her voice cracked. “But it was a long time ago-” 

“Is that supposed to make it better? That doesn’t bring back all of those people!” he shot back.

  
“And you’ve never regret things you’ve done in the past!?” she half-shouted.    
  
“I NEVER BLEW UP A CITY, LEE!” he all but screamed at her. 

Lee flinched as if he’d physically hit her. “I’m trying to do better, John. Make up for-   
  
He stopped her. “Bullshit, how can you make up for that!?” 

“John please-”    
  
“Don’t. Don’t call me that. Not now, not ever again. Whatever  _ fucked up _ thing we had, I — I just can’t.” he shook his head, with a look for disgust. “How could you hide that from me?” 

Lee felt a fresh wave of agony wash over her. The world seemed to slow around her as pain constricted her lungs. Her eyes burned, but she tried to force the tears back. The door slammed open again and a man hauled her roughly to her feet. She didn’t even try to resist and felt more like dead weight than anything else.    
  
“Come on, Valkyrie. Let’s see if we can’t make you sing like a siren.” the man sneered as she was all but dragged away from the dark cell.    
  
Hancock fell back against the wall, his hands shaking, as he pressed against his eyes trying to stem his own tears. 

-

A blindfold covered her eyes, and her arms and legs were restrained on a table, barring her from struggling. Not that she had the desire too, they could kill her now for all she cared. 

Somewhere a door opened and shut with a click, and the voice that followed is that caused fear to finally grip her. 

“Oh how the Valkyrie has fallen.” the voice,  _ thee  _ voice, taunted. “Now, that’s a real shame.” 

Her whole body shivered as a finger traced up her bare arm. “It’s also a shame to have to carve up all this beautiful skin.” he hummed. “But I suppose that’s the price you pay for letting yourself get captured.” 

“Holiday, how — how are you here?” she stammered. This had to be a bad dream. This is another nightmare. It had to be.   
  
“Maxson stole something from me, and I’m here to reclaim it,” he said simply. “But in the meantime, he’s been bringing me so many fun toys to play with. It’s hard to complain.”    
  
The sound of metal tools being shuffled on a table near her head drew her attention as she replied. “You cost me everything, running with you in D.C. ruined everything for me.” she spat. “Nothing you can do to me matters now. I have nothing left thanks to you.”    
  
A chuckle escaped his throat, and she felt his breath against her ear. “Oh Valkyrie, you fell for a ghoul? Really? After everything we had together, I’d say you’ve downgraded considerably.”    
  
“You’re disgusting.” she hissed.    
  


More shuffling echoed through the room before her shirt was ripped, exposing her torso. “I’m disgusting? Compared to a walking corpse with a cosplay fetish? You wound me.” the blindfold was pulled from her eyes and she flinched at the blinding light. “Not much fun if I can’t see your pretty green eyes. That’s better.” 

His grinning face came into view and she saw the devil for the first time in years. His blonde hair was slicked back, and he wore a dark uniform. In his hand was his knife, gleaming under the white lights. But the most unsettling thing were his eyes. Amber and unnatural they bore into her. 

“Now, I’m supposed to find out how much info you managed to steal, but honestly I couldn’t care less. Frankly, your screams are enough for me.” 

The blade cut against her flesh causing her to hiss, her eyes closing, brow contorted. “You’re- gonna have to do better than that-”    
  
A genuine laugh left the demon’s lips. “Oh, you know me better than that. I haven’t even started to play yet.” 

-

A scream finally broke from her lips as the blade dug under her skin, scraping against her rib. Holiday laughed above her, blood dripping from his hands. “Finally, a response. I was beginning to think this was going to be dull, but you were never one to be a dead fish when on your back.” she didn’t open her eyes to see the grin she knew he was wearing.    
  
He sliced again along the side of her ribcage, the blade sliding down to rend another strip of flesh from bone. “Hmmm, at this rate you might actually end up giving the ghoul a run for his money in the ‘who has less skin than who’ competition.” 

“F-fuck you, Holiday.”    
  
He hummed, making another slice. “Can’t right now, it’s unprofessional to fuck on the job. Raincheck?” 

Lee growled and bit her lip, as the knife’s edge slid along the skin of her pelvis, probably carving into the bone itself.    
  


She didn’t know how long he’d been cutting, but her entire torso was wet with blood in varying stages of drying, and she could feel it pooling beneath her. 

A door slammed open causing her to throw open her eyes. Maxson waltzed over to look down at her half-naked carved form. “Has the prisoner given up any information?”    
  
“Nothing. I’m afraid we’ll have to have many more sessions before she decides to spill her… guts.” Holiday said with a dark smiled. 

Maxson gave a curt nod and turned to leave. “Give her half a stim to assure she doesn’t bleed out. Then pick up where you left off tomorrow.” 

Holiday gave a dramatic bow and went about injecting the proscribed stim. “It would be a tragedy if I lost my new toy so soon. Hopefully, Maxson will let me play mortician and cut into the corpse. I wonder how his screams would sound?” 

“Don’t ever fucking touch him,” Lee growled, but she was slowly growing weaker from the blood loss.    
  
He leaned down until his lips were to her ear. “Oh, I’d love to see you try and fucking stop me.” 

-

A suit of power armor threw Lee’s limp body into the shared cell. She collapsed on the hard metal floor with an unceremonial thud. 

Hancock shot up and tried to reach for her, only to be held back by his chains. “Fucking Christ…” he breathed, his eyes raking over her prone form. All traces of anger left him as he examined her disfigured form. Stips of flesh were missing from her entire upper body, and bruises stained the flesh of her arms, intertwining with jagged lacerations that still leaked blood. “Oh my god…” his eyes were wide and his body resumed it’s shaking. “Lee? Lee, can you hear me?” 

No response.    
  
John felt his heart shatter all over again. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SICK BASTARDS DO TO HER!?” he screamed, slamming his fist against the floor. “YOU SICK FUCKING-” the door slid open and a man he didn’t recognize strolled in with a large grin. 

“Admiring my latest work, I see. Don’t worry, by the time I’m through with her she’ll be almost as hideous as you.” he cocked his head. “Almost. You set the bar pretty high.”   
  
“I will fucking gut you myself-”

“Ugh, promises, promises. You should be happy she’s getting the justice due her. After all, you were so disgusted by her past you wanted nothing to do with her.”    
  
“How do you-?” Hancock stammered confusedly. He shook it off. “Come here, unchain me if you want to see blood. I will paint this cell with yours.” he challenged. 

Holiday chuckled and strode closer, and slammed his boot into the ghoul’s chest throwing him back against the steel wall. “You really shouldn’t give me decorating tips.” Holiday warned. 

Hancock coughed, trying to breathe. “Who the fuck are you.” he managed to rasp. 

“Why don’t you ask sweet Valkyrie when she wakes.” he grinned. “If she wakes. She’s an old…. Friend, shall we say?”    
  
The ghoul growled low in his throat. “That’s a hell of a way to treat a friend…”

The blonde demon sighed. “I never was good at keeping pets alive, let alone people. Mother always used to wonder why the cats kept ‘running away’, only to turn up missing their skin. I guess she wasn’t a fan of my blossoming talents. I like to think I was practically a prodigy.” 

“You’re sick…”

A laugh. “Creative. There’s nothing you could say that hasn’t already been said a thousand times over to me. Sick, disturbed, twisted, blah, blah, blah, it’s all Greek to me. It’s not my fault that most people lack the capacity for such violence. The way I see it, they’re practically cattle for slaughter the way they fall into my blades. Weak, pathetic. I’m doing the wastelands a service by being rid of them.” He turned towards the door. “But that’s enough for now. Don’t worry, Johnny. We’ll be seeing each other again soon.”    
  
The door clanged shut and Hancock sat his mind reeling. In front of him, Lee groaned and twitched, obviously in the throes of a dark dream. Mentally he cursed himself for what he’d said earlier. Of course, the rational part of him knew that what she had done was atrocious, it was nearly beyond redemption, but… at the same time, he remembered how selfless she was trying to help find Nate’s son. She’s gone above and beyond, landing them here, but still. She’d tried to make up for the evil she’d done, and he’d shot her down without knowing the whole of it. If the Brotherhood allowed this, who was he to take them at their word?    
  
He began running scenarios in his mind. They hadn’t taken his knife from him, and it was hidden within his coat. He’d have to find a way out of these shackles, but if he could get a jump on the guards, he might be able to get them out of there. 

-

It had been hours, and Nick was at a loss. He’d seen a vertibird take off to the airship, presumably with Lee and Hancock being forcibly thrown into it. He’d run the calculations of the probability of their escape and it was grim. For once the detective felt hopeless.    
  


He sat in the parking garage for hours before an idea struck him and he headed off from the ruins. It was a roundabout trip due to the airports location on a peninsula, but the synth had no other options. He needed help, and there were only a few people he knew who would be crazy enough to attempt a rescue from the Brotherhood. 

-

The explosion was felt even from the balcony of the Tenpenny Tower, several miles away. Megaton going up in a fiery mushroom cloud, leaving nothing but a crater in its wake. A hand clasped her shoulder as she stared emotionless at the destruction.    
  
“And so the body count grows even higher.” the smooth voice washed over her.    
  


A pompous laugh caused her to turn as Allistair Tenpenny clapped at the display. “Oh yes, marvelous! Finally a view without that monstrous eyesore! 2000 caps, as promised.” he said gleefully handing Holiday the bag of caps. 

Lee slowly made her way around to the side of the elderly man.    
  
“A pleasure doing business, Mr. Tenpenny.” the blonde man smiled. “However, our business is far… far from completed just yet.” 

The old man frowned. “Well, I’m not sure wh-” his words cut off in a wet cough as Lee’s knife smoothy severed his throat. His eyes widened in fear, a horrified glance between the two villains. “You- you are-” his eyes fluttered. “Monsters….” the final word finished as a hoarse whisper as the life left him.

Lee felt nothing, no remorse, no joy, no anything. 

The rest of the tower went as easy as Tenpenny had, and when the duo finished their slaughter, blood painted the walls and stained the carpets. Organs and bits of flesh laid cut from mutilated victims as each murderer carved them like wooden sculptures. Holiday had a flair for stringing his kills up, while Lee was more the dismemberment type. 

The final result was a macabre silent ‘art’ gallery. Bodies strung and arranged in horrifying testaments of what went on. The only sound now was the elevator music that played happily throughout the building.    
  
Holiday smiled as he finished hanging his final body, his face and body covered in blood. Lee’s appearance mirrored his own, save for the smile. Holiday regarded her, pursing his lips.    
His ‘partner’ seemed not to be taking the same joy in their activities as she used to. When they’d first started out she reveled in the blood, slicing and lacerating bodies with a smile to rival his own. She hasn’t smiled in a while though, in fact, she hasn’t shown any emotion at all. The fact of that bothered Holiday. She was robotic, murdering with preprogrammed precision, but the feelings just weren’t there. 

“Is something wrong, Holiday?” she questioned, though her face conveyed nothing. Nothing, just blankness. He wanted to reach out and carve a fucking smile into the face just to see something.    
  


He sighed, perhaps she needed time to reboot her senses. “I’ve decided to take a vacation,” he said dryly. 

Lee blinked. “A vacation.” it wasn’t a question, it was nothing. And, Holiday hated her just a bit for it. 

“We need some time apart, my sweet Valkyrie.” he waited for a response that never came. It enraged him. “Will you fucking emote anything you damn machine!?” he yelled, his hand rearing back to strike her across the face. 

Her head jerked, but she turned back to him, stoic as ever. Her eyes were half-lidded and she looked bored. 

“Ugh!” Holiday threw his hand up in frustration. “I have half the mind to gut you and leave you here with the others…” 

“You can try,” she responded deadpan.    
  
He sighed. “Almost a challenge.” he gathered his gear before turning to look her in the eyes. Once emeralds full of bloodlust, now devoid of any passion. “Personality reset: Zeta-6-6-Valkyrie,” he muttered.

Lee’s body shut down in front of him, and he sighed. “I’ll be in touch.” 

He left her there and headed west to recut a bloody swath through the American midwest. He’d come back, and hopefully, his Valkyrie would be back to her old self. 

Her head snapped up and she groaned as it ached. “What the fuck happened.” she felt hungover, dizzy. Her vision was blurred as she stumbled into a desk. Shaking her head, she rubbed at her eyes. The scene came into focus and she gasped. 

Carnage surrounded her, her own hands bearing a bloodied testament to flashes of memory that assured her she’d done this. A sick feeling welled in her gut. 

Holiday. 

She looked around her but saw no signs of anyone else. Bodies strung up on heavy hooks her only indication that he’d been here at all. The memories were in pieces, brief flashes that seemed more like poorly remembered dreams.

“Holiday?” she called out tentatively. 

No answer. She was alone. 

-

Lee groaned, her whole body aching as the dream slowly faded from her mind. Her mind was reeling. Was it a dream or a memory? Something conjured up or something remembered? She did wake up in Tenpenny tower, body bloody among the corpses of the dead, but watching it play out all over again she was left grasping for answers. Holiday had shut her down. “Rebooted” her. But that couldn’t be right, that wasn’t possible. A searing pain shot through her body as she tried to roll over.    
  
“Lee? Shhh, take it easy.” a rough voice whispered to her.    
  
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Hancock?” her voice sounded as raspy as his.    
  


“Yeah, luv. You’re pretty beat up. Try not to move too much.” he replied. 

Lee gasped out a rough laugh. “Now I know I’ve died and gone to hell. You’d never call me that, not after learning what I did.” 

A sigh. “Look, I don’t know what happened back then. But I think there’s more going on here than we both know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m royally pissed, but… none of this adds up.” 

“When you run with the devil you run the risk of becoming a demon.” Lee recited. “I’m sorry I got you pulled into this.” 

“Who is the devil, Lee? The man who did this to you- he came by last night. Said you were ‘old friends’.” Hancock questioned, and she heard chains clack as he positioned himself. 

“His name is Holiday. He found me years ago. I don’t remember much thinking back. Lately, though I’ve been getting these… flashes. Memories that replay in my dreams. Sometimes they’re not even memories, they’re just… terrible visions.” she grimaced recalling Kent’s bloodied face.

The ghoul’s brow creased. The way she was talking reminded him of Nick and his flashes of the old Valentine’s memories he’d sometimes get. But that would have to mean- he shook the thought out of his head. “It might have had something to do with the memory hook up, they started after that right?” 

She nodded as best she could and winced, any response being cut off by the sound of the door slamming open. “Alright,  _ Valkyrie _ . Time to sing.” the man reached down, grabbing her up as she hissed in pain. 

“Watch it tin can! She’s already in pain you sack of shit!” Hancock spat only to be shoved back to the ground by an armored fist. 

“Quiet,  _ ghoul _ .” the man sneered. “Or I’ll put you down myself.” 

Hancock spat out blood. “I’d like to see you fucking try.” 

Another fist knocked him back to the ground, his head smacking against the cold steel. “Shit…” 

-   


The restraints cut into her wrists and ankles, while she glared up at the overhead lights. 

“And how’s my little angel of death doing this morning?” Holiday cooed as he came up beside her to check his ‘tools’.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be? Like hell?” Lee questioned back. 

Holiday grinned. “There’s that fire I’ve been missing,” he said, pulling out what looked to be a blowtorch from a cabinet below her sightline. “And speaking of fire, I have something very special lined up for you today.” 

Lee glowered at him. “What am I, Holiday.” 

“Beg pardon?” he hummed, not expecting the question. 

Her jaw clenched. “What the hell am I?” I repeated.

Holiday paused a moment and then laughed. “You mean you haven’t figured it out yet?” he scoffed in disbelief. “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised, after all, you were created as a weapon, not a genius.” 

Lee’s heart sank. “I- that’s impossible.” 

He tisked as he fired up the blowtorch. “Nothing’s impossible, just highly unlikely, but it happens anyway. Such a fun life.” he lifted a heated metal rod, glowing red hot from the heat of the fire. “You’re a synth, Valkyrie. Created for one thing and one thing only. Violence. Murder. Maiming, the whole nine yards.” he hummed. “Fortunately for me, you can still feel pain.”

The brand seared against her rib cage and she screamed despite herself, as Holiday looked on manically. “Now  _ that _ is more like it!” 

The devil pressed brand after brand into the mercenaries already flayed skin. She never got respite as burn after burn charred her flesh. The smell churned her stomach and the agony threatened to black her out altogether.    
  


Holiday didn’t bother asking for information, and Lee wasn’t ever going to give him any. He was here to have fun, and even if she’d told him what she knew, he’d have claimed the opposite just to keep her contained. 

Eventually, Holiday put away the brand and took to scorching the bare flesh with the torch itself. The skin bubbling and turning black under the flames. 

“Crispy on the outside, just the way I like it.” Holiday hummed. “My dear you look good enough to eat.” 

The door opened and once more Maxson came in, though even he nearly gagged at the stench of burned flesh. “Has she given up anything?”

“Nothing. She’s a tough one, I’ll give her that. Pity, I really thought the burning would work.” Holiday sighed. “Oh well, I’ll move on to sulfuric acid tomorrow.”

Lee stayed quiet despite the fear she felt. Her body stung, the skin ruined beyond any repair. She grunted as a guard roughly unlatched her and dragged her away. Holiday blew her a kiss before the door closed behind her.

She landed on the floor of the cell in a heap. Trying to sit up, her limbs protested in agony. 

“Holy…. Shit. Jesus fucking christ.” Hancock managed, his eyes wide at the sight in front of him. 

Lee managed to turn and prop herself up. They hadn’t chained her back to the wall, probably assuming she was too broken to resist anything. “What the hell did he do to you…” the ghoul asked horrified, though he believed he already knew. 

“Burned the shit outta me…” Lee groaned. “But he gave me answers at least.” she shook her head. “I’m a synth, Hancock.” 

The words hit him like a powerfist to the chest. “Shit…” he rubbed his bruised face with his unshackled hand. “Jesus Lee….I- shit, I don’t even know what to say.” 

Lee coughed out a laugh. “I don’t even know how, or-or why they — fuck...” she trailed off, her stomach feeling nauseous. 

“Hey, we’ll figure it out, okay. We’ll fix this-” 

“There is no ‘we’, Hancock,” Lee cut off. “You said it yourself, and I get it. What I did- all those people. I deserve your anger.” she looked away from him, rubbing the bruises on her wrists. “I can’t make up for what I’ve done. And you’re right, it’s pointless to try. It won’t bring back all of those people.” 

He sighed and shifted against the wall. “Lee, I can’t…” he said softly, his voice barely audible. “I can’t hate you.” she chanced a glance at him and he beckoned her over to him. “Can you move?”

Lee struggled for a moment but slowly made her way over to collapse next to him against the wall. Her breathing was labored and painful, but she felt lighter being close to him again. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, careful of her wounds. 

“Well get out of this. I promise.” he pressed a small kiss against the side of her temple. “And then we’ll sort all of this shit out.”    
  
\- 

Nick strode into Goodneighbor on a mission. Walking into the Statehouse he found Fahrenheit sitting on one of the beat-up red couches. She looked up as he came in. “Aren’t you supposed to be up to your ass in the Glowing Sea right now?” the imposing acting mayor asked. 

The synth shot her a tired look. “John’s been captured, along with Lee,” he said, and the bodyguard grumbled loudly in frustration.    
  
“Are you fucking kidding me? By who?” she demanded, standing up angrily. 

“The Brotherhood of Steel.” 

Fahrenheit’s eyes narrowed. “Oh fuck.” 

After giving her more details, she left in a huff to go roundup back up. She returned 15 minutes later with MacCready, and Kleo in tow, along with a bald man in sunglasses, despite it being dark out. 

“That’s it? 4 people to storm the Brotherhood of Steel stronghold?” Nick questioned, weighing the grim odds of success in his mind. 

“They’re on that big airship right? Fahrenheit said, arms crossed. Nick nodded. “You said the Cambridge police station has a Vertibird, so we’re going to borrow it. Bypass the airport altogether and head right up top.” 

Nick considered it. “It could work, provided we can figure out how to fly the thing.” 

MacCready spoke up. “I got it. The gunners sometimes used vertibirds, I’ve seen it done a couple of times. Doesn’t look too hard.” he assured. 

“Huh, yeah- well seeing and doing are two very different things kid. But I suppose it won't matter when we’re plummeting to out deaths.” 

“This was your idea.” Fahr reminded. 

Nick couldn’t argue. “Alright. Let’s not keep the grim reaper waiting.” 

Fahr rolled her eyes and marched them all out. She was going to personally kick the Mayor’s ass for this one. 


	10. The Highest Price

Lee and Hancock talked most of the night, bouncing escape plans off each other. Hancock had no plans of letting her go through one more ‘interrogation’. It was go time tomorrow, and if they didn’t make it, well he figured at least they’d go down fighting. 

Being a ghoul meant he didn’t need to sleep as much as humans, usually he chose to, but tonight he kept watch. Lee had fallen into sleep, propped up against him, her head on his shoulder.

While he sat there he mulled over the implications of her being a synth in his mind. He knew she’d want answers, which meant going after the Institute for her own reasons now. Even if they managed to get off this airship, the road ahead of them looked darker and more confusing than ever. The first thing he needed to do though was get her in to see Amari. Not only for her physical wounds but for the mental ones as well.    
  
She stirred against him, a low rasped groan leaving her throat. Her burned skin cracked with the movement and oozed fluid. Hancock’s brow furrowed with concern. She really needed a doctor, but even then he knew the scars would last for life.

Her eyes fluttered open and peered into his dark ones. “Morning, Sunshine.” he murmured, a sad smile on his lips. 

“Morning, handsome.” she offered a small smile of her own, but it quickly vanished. “I don’t know when the guard will get here. So we should get ready.” 

Hancock moved to stand and helped her up. She was shaky, but he knew she was fighting through excruciating pain just to stay upright. He handed her a bobby pin from inside his coat and she went to work picking the lock on the handcuffs that held him. They sprang open within a few seconds.    
  
“Nimble, ain’t cha?” he commented, which earned him a pained sad grin. 

With both of his hands free he gently took her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, sunshine,” he muttered into her blood matted hair. “We’ll make this right. I promise.” 

“I don’t deserve you, Hancock-” 

  
He pulled back and cut her off with a finger to her lips. “Lee, do me a favor.” 

She nodded in confusion.    
  
“Just call me, John.” 

-

It was another hour or so before the guard wrenched open the door, but Hancock was waiting against the wall by the door. When the man walked in to grab Lee, he slid out grabbing the man, with one hand over his mouth, while the other slid his blade across the man’s throat.    
  
Hancock breathed a sigh of relief that they didn’t send someone in power armor today, as he watched the blood pool onto the floor. He grabbed the man’s gun and pulled off his jacket for Lee.   
  
Lee stood up as quickly as she could, shouldering it on. She was thankful for at least a bit of clothing, seeing as Holiday had left her with only her ragged bra and underwear. 

Hancock took her hand in his as he led her quietly down the catwalk outside. They appeared to be on the lowest level of the ship, a set of metal stairs their only option up. They were completely exposed from above, and Lee prayed no one would look down. Almost to the top Hancock pulled her close to him against the wall, as an armored soldier walked past their exit.    
  
Lee could see the ladder in the center at the end of the hall. That was their ticket down to the command deck and to freedom. She risked a peek around the corner and didn’t see anyone on patrol. “It looks clear, let’s move,” she whispered.    
  
They quickly made a break for it, Lee hauled open the hatch, hissing in pain as he skin broke open in barely healed places. Overhead an alarm sounded. 

“Shit!” Hancock hissed as a power armor wearing soldier turned and spotted them from town the hall. He grabbed Lee bridal style in his arms and jumped down the hole, landing with a loud thud, the jolt shaking him, but he remained upright… And face to face with Elder Maxson.

“Abomination.” the Elder spat. “Did you really think you would be able to get off this airship alive?” 

Hancock slowly lowered Lee to stand on her own. Her whole body ached, but she did her best to stand definitely in front of her captor.   
  


“You know, I had high hopes, but then the living definition of a jackass got in my way.” the ghoul responded with a grin. 

There were about five men flanking the Elder, two in power armor. Lee realized that they weren’t going to make it out alive. “Do you want to know one of the secrets I learned, Elder Maxson?” she spoke up. “One of the deepest darkest secrets kept by the Brotherhood.” 

The Elder’s gaze narrowed on her in rage. “And what would that be, Valkyrie?” 

Her lip quirked up. “You’re the product of incest.”    
  
Maxson lept at her in fury. Lee braced for the blow, but a gunshot echoed through the room. Maxon stumbled, hit in the leg. 

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to batter women?” Nick’s voice reverberated through the small room. 

Lee looked up to see Nick, his pistol raised, flanked by Fahrenheit, Kleo, and a man with sunglasses who she didn’t recognize. 

“Now, here’s how this is going to go,” Nick commanded. “We’re walking out of here with these two, and if you so much as try and stop us, our man outside will detonate the remote explosive that one of our operatives has placed all around this ship. Is that understood?” 

“Don’t make us use the assaultron!” the man in sunglasses threatened. 

Kleo turned to him. “I’m no tool to be used. Unless  _ you  _ want to be used for target practice.”

The man grinned nervously and slunk to the back, as the soldiers lowered their weapons. 

The Brotherhood soldiers looked shocked and confused, but Maxson grunted in acknowledgment, still holding his leg on the ground. 

Lee and Hancock hurried over to the gang and Nick led them outside. “Was any of that true?” Lee whispered to the detective, who chuckled in response.    
  
“Not one damn word. But it will buy us time if they think they have traitors in their ranks and explosives on their ship.” 

“How did you guys manage to get up here?” the John asked. 

“Borrowed a ride from Cambridge. They won’t miss it. Though, I am surprised we didn’t crash and burn on the way here.” Nick explained.    
  
Fahrenheit, who was covering them from behind with her impressive minigun, elbowed her boss in the shoulder. “I’m kicking your ass once we’re off this deathtrap,” she warned.    
  
Hancock chuckled. “Sister, I won’t even be mad.” 

A few guards had followed them outside but otherwise did nothing. They weren’t going to call Nick’s bluff and risk their ship going down in flames. They reached a readied Vertibird and MacCready smiled and waved at them from the pilot’s seat. “Welcome aboard Air MacCready, I’ll be your pilot today, please fasten your seat belts — no really fasten them, this is going to be bumpy,” he advised. 

Hancock helped strap Lee in, and then himself. Nick sat across from them with the sunglasses man, while Kleo opted to stand. As Fahrenheit tossed up her minigun to climb up, suddenly a shout fell from her lips as she was yanked back from the aircraft.    
  
Lee unsnapped her belt, as did everyone else, rushing to the edge to see Fahr held with a knife to her throat. A knife held by the devil himself.   
  
“Lee, my sweet Valkyrie. I didn’t say playtime was over,” he warned darkly, his eyes angrily boring into her own.    
  
“Let her go!” Lee screamed, her heart drumming in her chest. This wasn’t good. 

“Just go!” Fahrenheit shouted, her eyes defiant. 

Holiday pressed the knife harder, blood bloomed around it. “A trade then? You for the redhead? Deal.”    
  
Lee didn’t hesitate. “Deal.” 

“What?!” Hancock grabbed her and roughly threw her back. “The hell are you doing!?” 

“She doesn’t deserve this, I do! For all that I have done, consider it my redemption.” 

Hancock’s eyes searched hers. “No. You’re not doing that. You, glasses, hold her down, and make sure she stays on this ship.” 

“The name’s Deacon, by the way.” the man responded, but Hancock ignored him. 

“John, what are you doing. John! JOHN!?” Lee screamed as the ghoul grabbed his knife and jumped off the vertibird onto the landing below. 

“I told you I would gut you for what you did to Lee. That’s a promise I intend to keep.” Hancock growled.    
  
Holiday laughed aloud before his lips settled into a dark smirk. “I did so want to see if your insides were as poorly preserved as the outside.” He drove his knife swiftly into Fahrenheit’s chest, roughly throwing her to the side. “I do hope dear Lee is watching, I wouldn’t want her to miss your grand finale.” 

Hancock lunged, fueled by rage. His vision went red, and for a moment he thought he’d gone feral. The only thing he wanted was blood. He aimed for Holiday’s neck, but the demon easily blocked his arm, bringing his own knife to plunge into Hancock’s side.    
  
Hancock growled, his teeth clenched against the pain while bringing a knee up to the other man’s stomach. Holiday stumbled back a few paces, a wicked grin across his lips. He beckoned Hancock towards him and the ghoul ran, throwing himself under Holiday’s arching attack to slide his blade across the other man’s leg. Holiday hissed. He spun around, knocking away Hancock’s arm as he came in for another attack. His fist uppercut the ghoul’s jaw, throwing his head back. 

  
Hancock stumbled, spitting blood on to the metallic surface below. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve he snarled, diving back at Holiday.    
  


Nick leveled a shot from the vertibird, but John had lept in the way before he could fire. “Sonova-” the synth cursed.    
  
“What’s happening, Nick?!” Lee shouted writhing against the man holding her. Her body screamed in protest, but the adrenaline and fear made it a distant concern. “Nick?! Ugh! Let go OF ME!” She shrieked. 

“Sorry, mayor’s orders!” the man responded grimly. 

Hancock dodged a swing by Holiday, feigning a high attack, before jerking and implanting his blade in between Holiday’s ribs. The demon smiled, a hand wrapping around Hancock’s to drive it even deeper. “Come on, make it hurt.” 

John glowered at him in disgust, before Holiday’s blade slide between his shoulder blades. He roared both in surprise and pain, stumbling back as he reached to pull the blade out. Blood dripped from it, painting the floor around him.    
  
Both men now held the other’s knife, taken from a fresh wound in their bodies. They circled each other, both predators not willing to let the other walk out alive. Hancock’s heart was drumming in his ears so ferociously, he could barely hear Lee’s screams from within the vertibird.   
  
“You’re really going to have to try harder than that corpse.” Holiday jeered. “What’s that popular saying? ‘Do you think I even feel this weak ass shit?’” 

Hancock’s eyes narrowed. Holiday’s taunts sounded far away, and his mind was only consumed with silencing him. 

He pushed himself off and threw himself at the demon. His shoulder slammed into Holiday and they both tumbled to the floor, fists collided with flesh, knifes sliced, and found purchase in any openings they could. Both men were bleeding, covered in bloody wounds. 

Hancock wheeled back and slammed his fist into Holiday’s throat with a scream. The demon jerked, using his rage to throw Hancock back off of him. 

Coughing, Holiday staggered up, a cut across his forehead leaking blood into his eyes.    
Hancock tried to slam his boot into Holiday’s chest, but Holiday caught him off balance. He fell back, his head slammed back into metal as blood filled his mouth. Holiday stalked over to Hancock and brought a heavy boot down on his knife-wielding hand, shattering the bones. John roared, his eyes closing in pain.    
  
Lee threw an elbow into Deacon’s face. His nose shattered causing him to release her. She flung herself from his grasp. “John!” She screamed hysterically as Nick grabbed her to stop her from throwing herself off the vertibird. “Kid No!” He shouted, pulling her against him. “There’s nothing you can do!”    
  
“He’s going to kill him, Nick!” she screamed, her voice hoarse. “I have to help him!” 

Fahrenheit, groaned, her eyes cracking open to see Holiday looming over Hancock. Slowly she rose grabbing the knife from her waist band. The bodyguard threw herself at Holiday, but he vanished before she could reach him. Hancock clambered up, clutching his shattered hand. “What the fuck?” he rasped. 

“Peek-a-boo!” a voice called. Holiday materialized holding a rifle a few paced away from them.    
  
Nick raised his gun, just as Holiday fired straight at John. Lee’s screams pierced the air, louder than the gunfire.    
  
Hancock mentally swore as everything moved in slow motion around him. This was it for him. He knew it, yet strangely felt at peace with that fact. He couldn’t complain. It was a hell of a way to go; protecting the people you care about most. He only hoped that the other’s got away and that Lee would be taken care of.

A flash of red hair momentarily blocked his vision before it fell to the ground with a thud.    
  
He blinked, his mind reeling. His eyes dropped to Fahrenheit, fallen at his feet, the bullet catching her through the side of her neck. She was bleeding out, fast. The crimson liquid staining the grated metal of the walkway.    
  
A red light flashed above him, the whirring sound of an assaultron eye laser being fired. Shouting, screaming, crying.    
  
He knelt down, his face contorted with confusion and pain. “Why? Why the hell would you-” he trailed off.    
  


“Just- just doing my job…. Boss.” she rasped out with a pained smile that quickly faded into seriousness. “Now. Go.” 

He shook his head, but a mechanical hand grabbed him, pulling him backward, dragging him into the vertibird. The world spun around him as his brain tried to grasp what had just happened. His whole body felt numb.    
  
Holiday ducked another laser blast from the assultron and cursed under his breath. His uniform was stained with blood, some his, and some belonging to the ghoul. Brotherhood soldiers rushed to his aid, and he pushed them away. 

  
On the Vertibird Lee pulled Hancock’s bleeding body against her broken one, her tears relentless, staining her cheeks.    
  
“John. John… oh god. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.” her voice cried into his ear as she held him. The Vertibird lurched and fell for a few feet before taking off.    
  
MacCready didn’t have the heart to make a snarky quip. None of them did as they made the trip back in silence, only broken by Lee’s quiet sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In memory of the best bodyguard a ghoul could ask for.  
> R.I.P Fahrenheit.


	11. The Aftermath

MacCready ‘landed’ them a short distance from Goodneighbor, narrowly missing multiple buildings on his decent, but no one even had the heart to gripe. The bleeding from Hancock’s wounds had subsided, thanks to the stimpacks Nick had been carrying. He laid against Lee on the floor of the vertibird the entire way there. He seemed lost, and never spoke once. The usually witty and charismatic mayor, silenced by overwhelming grief.

Lee likewise, had fallen into unresponsiveness. Her tears had run dry, but a grief that couldn’t be described lingered heavily in her heart. Grief, and guilt. The one thought that ran through her mind, over and over, and over again was; “It should have been you.” 

Fahrenheit had come to save them, because of her mistake, and she died at the hands of the demon that had possessed her soul and damned her to hell. 

They entered the town in silence, Nick leading the injured pair to Dr. Amari. Daisy instantly knew something was wrong as Kleo walked by her without a word, back into her shop. The pre-war ghoul never thought an assaultron could look so sad. As she watched the others walk away she suddenly noticed who hadn’t come back. Daisy’s heart sank.

Despair spread like cancer, as the word made its way around the town. The citizens didn’t know how to take the news, and shock was usually the first reaction. Fahrenheit had always been seen as one of the most imposing figures in Goodneighbor. A flame-haired sentinel that had stood by the mayor for nearly his entire reign. The Third Rail was packed that evening, but the atmosphere was heavy. There was no comfort to be found in the bottom of their bottles, no uplifting melody filled their ears, just the pressing weight of despair wrought by a demon.

Hancock and Lee were both sedated to help their wounds mend. Dr. Amari had thought it best, not only to help with healing but because she knew Mayor Hancock’s self-destructive tendencies. Nick sat, keeping watch, in a chair in between their beds. Lee’s burns and lacerations had been cleaned and bandaged. Her arms and torso wrapped like a mummy from a pre-war movie and her face was bruised and battered. Both eyes were swelled black and blue, while the metal hoop she once wore through her lip was gone, only a barely healed scar remained from where it had been ripped out.    
  
The detective removed his hat with a sigh, metal hand running across his artificial scalp. Amari had told him, after the memory fiasco, that she suspected the young mercenary of being a synth. She claimed that the neural hookup Lee had she’d only ever seen in generation 3 synths, though whether or not Lee was aware of the fact, neither of them knew. Nick had decided before not to bring it up, and now as he watched over her, he knew he never could anytime soon. He could only imagine what she must be feeling, and he feared what she would do when she woke up. 

-

Amari kept the pair sedated for 3 days before allowing them to come to on their own. She gave Nick strict orders not to let them leave the beds, Lee especially, seeing as her injuries spanned the length of her body. The detective didn’t know how he was supposed to stop them if they tried to get up, but he hoped they wouldn’t make an attempt. Though, knowing the stubborn jackasses that they were, that was hoping for a miracle. 

Hancock was the first to wake up, the sedatives burning through his system faster. Probably due to his built-up tolerance for chems. He groaned, wincing as the light hit his eyes for the first time in days. As Nick had feared he instantly made to sit up, a leg swinging off the side of the bed.    
The synth jumped up from his seat and tried to corral the ghoul back into the bed. “John, just relax, lay back down-” he tried, standing in the other man’s way.    
  
“No... “ he rasped out, wincing at the pain in his back and side. “I have to-”    
  
Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “You have to heal, Amari wants your ass in that bed, and she’s tasked me with keeping it there.”    
  
Hancock rolled his eyes. “If Amari wanted my ass in a bed all she needed to do was ask, an’ don’t think I haven’t tried,” John responded. “And doesn’t the world’s biggest synthetic dick have something better to do anyway?” 

“....” Nick began to think that letting the mayor face plant on the floor was a good idea, but unfortunately, it wasn’t worth facing Amari’s wrath. “Get back in the bed, John.”

Hancock definitely stood up, arms crossed with a triumphant grin on his face…. Right before his leg gave out and he fell into the side tray table. The resounding crash made Nick wince.    
  
Amari came rushing into the room, instantly spying the mayor splayed upon the floor. She glared at the synth. “Didn’t I tell you to keep him in bed?” 

  
“What did you want me to do? Manhandle him?” the synth replied. He knew realistically alcohol had no effect on him but damned if he didn’t need a drink right now. 

All of the racket served to pull Lee from her sleep. She hissed as her skin stretched uncomfortably, pulling as she tried to sit up.    
  
“Oh not you too.” the synth’s voice reached her ears.    
  
Lee squinted against the offending lights. “Nick? The fuck is going on?” her voice sounded almost as raspy as John’s from lack of use.   
  
Amari sighed, rubbing at her brow tiredly. “Both of you. Stay. In. Your. Beds.” she instructed firmly as if scolding unruly children.    
  
Hancock climbed back into his a sullen look on his brow, crossing his arms over his chest.    
  
“You are to stay in your designated beds; that means no getting up, no leaving the bed, no getting up to lay together in one bed, no getting up and engaging in strenuous activities in the other person’s bed. Am I clear?”    
  
Hancock and Lee exchanged glances, and Amari repeated. “Am. I. Clear.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Hancock muttered.    
  


Nick sighed, vaguely wondering why no one ever listened to him like that.

Once Amari left, the trio fell silent, and Nick knew that silence, while preferable, wasn’t going to solve the problems that he knew were brewing.    
  
“Alright. We need to talk-” the synth began.    
  
Hancock cut him off. “I ain’t really in the talking mood, Nick. More like a ‘how many chems can I take until I blackout’ mood. You feel me?”    
  
The detective sighed. “Getting high isn’t the answer to every problem that comes up. You can’t just run from the problem-”    
  
“I am not running,” Hancock growled lowly, his eyes narrowed at the synth.    
  
Valentine turned to face him completely. “Oh yeah? Well from where I’m standing it looks a helluva lot like running. Which is exactly what you tend to do every time a problem arises in your life-”    
  
“Watch your mouth, Nicky. Before it gets you in trouble…” Hancock warned.    
  
Lee’s eyes were wide as she watched the altercation unfold before her. 

Nick’s chair screeched as he stood. “No John, you can’t just pretend things are fine anymore-” 

Hancock shot up, ignoring the pain. “Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do!” he shouted. “I just lost-” his voice cracked, and his body sagged. His head hung as fresh tears bloomed in his eyes.    
  


Valentine’s scowl softened and he sighed, coming to sit beside his friend, a hand placed on his shoulder. “It’s okay to mourn, John. It doesn’t make you weak, or- or any less of a man,” he said gently. “You need to face it, let it out, and when you’ve grieved…. Let it go. Let her go.”    
  
The ghoul’s shoulders shook as a sob wracked through his body. 

Lee couldn’t watch anymore. Pushing herself up, mindful of her bandages, she slowly hobbled over to take a place opposite Nick. She wrapped her arms around Hancock, her own tears matching his. Their grief was shared, and though their hearts were broken in different ways, one was no more broken than the other.    
  
Nick sighed sadly, wondering if he’d share their tears had he the capacity. He knew that he felt the loss, but his mechanical body only allowed for so much expression of his sorrow. It was a lacking that he’d hated many a night when memories of Jennifer Lands would play in his head. 

Nick sighed, pushing the woman, who was never truly his, out of his mind. 

Hancock had shifted, his head buried in the crook of Lee’s neck as they both held each other up. They stayed like this until Amari came back into the room with a sigh. Nick stood up and met her at the door with a shrug.    
  
“Let them work it out, doc. They need this, probably more than they need bed rest.” the synth said. “You know how important it is to heal a mind and heart, as well as a body.”    
  
Amari conceded. “Yes, I suppose you are right.” she took the detective’s hand. “Come on. Let’s give them some privacy.”    
  
The door closed behind them, leaving Hancock and Lee to their mourning.    
  
-

Neither knew how long they’d spent in tears, or when they’d shifted to lie beside one another, both staring glassy-eyed at the ceiling. 

Lee spoke softly, her voice barely a whisper. “It should have been me. It was me he was after.”    
  
She felt the bed shift, as a calloused hand took a hold of her own. “No, it shouldn’t have been,” Hancock responded. “It shouldn’t have been anyone. No one should have died…” 

Lee’s eyes closed as she took in a deep shaky breath, the feeling of his thumb stroking her hand soothing her some. “But Holiday was my problem, my own personal demon. It…. none of this was supposed to happen…”    
  
Hancock rolled onto his side with a wince, turning to face her as best he could. His bandaged and broken hand lightly tracing the curve of her face. “You’re as much a victim of that monster as anyone else.” he sighed. “Nick was right… I am always running. From my life, myself, every motherfucking bad thing that happens-” he searched her eyes as she turned to get a better look at him. “That’s the story of my life, Lee. The man who let the ghouls of Diamond City die, who was too scared to protect my fellow drifters from Vic and his boys… I thought that I’d finally built something here in Goodneighbor that I could hang my hat on, but-” his shifted as he gazed at her sadly. “But I’m still just running. Pretending. Relying on chems just to get through the day; to keep all the guilt and painful memories at bay.” he paused as Lee reached up to wipe away a stray tear from his face.    
  
“John, you’ve built a safe haven for the lost, the only truly free place in this Commonwealth, and possibly even this entire wasteland. You saw the things that went wrong, and you worked to change them for the better. Not a lot of people can say that.” Lee comforted.    
  


Hancock sighed. “You can.” he breathed. 

“John, I-” 

He cut her off. “No, what I said… back there… I’m sorry.” 

“You have nothing to be sorry about-” she insisted.    
  
“No but I do. There is so much going on here that we both don’t know. But whether or not you did what you did willingly, you’re trying to do better now. The only thing I’ve ever seen you do wrong was trying to help a man who didn’t deserve it. If anyone is to blame for what happened it is Nate and Holiday. He betrayed us, and Holiday pulled the trigger. All you wanted to do was reunite a man with his son, even if that involved taking on the fucking Institute, you never wavered.” he said, a small smiled capturing his lips for the first time in days. “So I’m sorry, for what I said, and… well,” he faltered. “I won’t blame you if you want to call, whatever this is we have, off… but, if you wanted, we can get through this together.”    
  
Tears filled her eyes as her brows drew together. “John, I can’t ask you to accept-”   
  
“You’re not. I am,” he responded resolutely. “Look, I’m not ready to give up on a good thing just yet. But I need to know what you aren’t ready to give up either.”    
  
Lee’s answer came in the form of her lips, and she could feel his mouth curve into a smile as he returned the kiss. 

-

Upstairs, Nick stubbed out the butt of his latest cigarette, shoulders slumped. The doctor sat beside him on the abandoned chaise; Irma having retired for the night.    
  
“I hope they come to a resolution.” the doctor said in a soft voice. “Mayor Hancock’s self-destructive tendencies will only worsen if he doesn’t have someone to help him. Someone that he’ll let help him.” 

Nick nodded in agreement. “I’ve seen the way he looks at her, Amari. He’s fallen for her, hard.” the synth fought the urge to light another smoke. “Whether or not he actually realizes that though, is another matter entirely.” 

Amari hummed, a small smile appearing on her lips. “It seems all men, no matter their origin, have trouble in that regard.” 

The synth’s brow creased at her words. “Speaking about someone in particular?” 

The doctor stood, the thin smile still on her lips, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ve never been keen on coy metaphors, that’s always been Irma’s area of expertise.” she began. “But I suppose my heart does belong to someone, Mr. Valentine. A perceptive man, intelligent and kind-hearted,” she paused. “However mechanical that heart may be.” she inclined her head, before heading off to her room without another word.    
  
Nick’s processor was in overdrive as he mulled over her words. He lit another smoke, allowing a grin to tug at his lips. As a detective, he wondered how he’d managed to miss that one. 

-

Lee awoke, her body aching. Her eyes opened to black ones staring back at her. “Morning, sunshine.” he breathed. 

She groaned and tucked her head against him. “Five more minutes…” she mumbled into his chest, causing him to chuckle. 

“‘Fraid not, Amari said she wanted to give us a once over before deeming us fit enough to leave this damned room. You can go crash in my bed after.” 

The thought of not sharing a twin bed sounded fantastic to her. On cue the doctor came in, shooting only a slightly disapproving glance at their having ignored her orders.    
  
“How do you feel, Ms. Steele?” she inquired, preparing a stimpack. 

The mercenary slowly sat up, still feeling groggy. “Like I just climbed out of a cooking pit, but other than that, I’m fan-fucking-tastic.” 

Amari rolled her eyes as she came over with the needle. “Perhaps, if you’d slept in your own designated bed, you’d have felt better this morning.” 

“Ain’t no fun in that, doc,” Hancock said with a grin. 

She wasn’t amused. “My first priority is your health, not your sexual appetite, Mayor Hancock.” 

Amari removed the bandages from around Lee’s body, and for the first time, she could see the extent of the healing damage. Angry pink skin covered her torso and arms, tight and sensitive as the new scarred flesh took the place of the old. The scars would remain, but she hardly cared about them for the sake of vanity. The thing that bothered her the most, was the fact that they would always serve as a reminder of him. 

“Very nice, no more infection, the skin seems to be healing well, however; there will still be extensive scarring I’m afraid, as well as residual pain from damaged nerves.” 

The news didn’t surprise her at all. “It is what it is. Thanks, Amari.” 

Despite her usual stoic and serious face, the other woman surprised her with a smile. 

The bones in Hancock’s shattered hand had set, though Amari still insisted that he keep it wrapped for the next few days. His other wounds had closed, and he made a quip about his skin being so scarred you couldn’t tell either way, too which Lee shot him a look, and he simply grinned. The merc got the feeling that no matter how much she corrected his self-deprecation, it would end up being a losing battle. He was incorrigible on that matter it seemed. 

John requested that Amari check Lee’s mind the next day, to see if something lingered from the memory hook up. The doctor agreed, after a light scolding of, “You should have come as soon as the problems started.” 

Amari begrudgingly gave them the green light and discharged the pair. Reminding them to take it easy for the next few days, or else she’d confine them to the room with handcuffs. Lee thanked her again and slid her hand into John’s; they walked upstairs together. Nick smiled when they reached the landing, his sharp eyes instantly noticing their entwined hands. “Good to see you two back up and at it.” 

“Can’t keep a good ghoul down.” Hancock chimed. “Or girl, for that matter.” his good hand-squeezed Lee’s. 

Nick hummed, with a smile. “Well, the adoring public waits for their illustrious mayor. You ready for this?” he asked, brows knitting out of concern.    
  
“Honestly? Probably not,” he confessed. “But the people need me to at least look the part of a fearless leader.” 

Hancock led Lee to the Statehouse, the walls of which were quiet, hauntingly so. The occupants were acutely aware of the absence created by the loss of the Mayor’s second. He stopped at the door to the balcony. “Hey, you don’t have to go out there with me, I mean, if you don’t want. No hard feelings, I understand if you just want to retire.” 

In truth Lee was afraid to face the people, to see their sorrow reflected at her from their upturned faces. But as John’s thumb slowly smoothed over the back of her hand, she knew that she couldn’t leave him. He provided some semblance of comfort to her, and she only hoped that she could return that favor. She nodded, “I’m with you, John.”    
  
His lips pulled into a small smile, as his eyes glistened back at her; relief was evident on his face. He pulled her in for a short kiss. “Thanks, Luv.” 

On the balcony, he cleared his throat before calling out for his people to assemble. Everyone instantly dropped what they were doing; some rushing over, and others rushing to get their friends. Everyone was eager to hear what the mayor was going to say.    
  
Hancock waited until the entirety of Goodneighbor was assembled below him, and Lee found Kleo, MacCready, Nick, and the other man, Deacon, all standing together in the back. John’s hand gripped hers tighter as he began to speak. 

“I’m sure most of you know the story by now, or at least the gist of it. Four days ago we lost an irreplaceable member of this community. Someone who, whether you loved her, hated her, or feared her, seemed like she’d never simply be gone. Four days ago Fahrenheit died, in my place, aboard the Brotherhood of Steel airship. She jumped in the way of a bullet that was meant for me. She didn’t hesitate, she didn’t think twice, she just… acted. And, no matter your own feelings about her, that kind of bravery is something that should be honored. Fahrenheit wasn’t the easiest woman to get along with — and trust me I know — but her dedication to this town, to what it stands for, and to all of you, never wavered. She died so that I can be here addressing you all today, and her sacrifice will  _ never  _ be forgotten. She wasn’t just my bodyguard, or my second, she was my friend.” he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “But, I know that if I sit here, allowing my grief to consume me, she’d have kicked my ass.” A sad laugh drifted up from the crowd below. “The only thing we can do now is move forward. Remembering her as she was, and remembering the ideals she stood for and defended to the very end.” his hand squeezed tighter. “Because that is what Goodneighbor is about; moving forward, living life, and being free.” 

A cheer erupted from below; the denizens all clapping loudly in agreement and solidarity. 

Lee’s heart drummed in her chest, her nerves getting the better of her, as she cleared her own throat. “Can I..?” she trailed off in question.

John looked surprised, a brow raised, but he smiled and inclined his head. 

“I’m sure a lot of you don’t know me or have only heard of me in passing, but my name is Lee, and I’m more or less a mercenary from the Capital Wastes. When I first arrived in this town I knew that it was special. Having traveled the entire American wasteland, from coast to coast, I’d never come across a town quite like this one. What Hancock has built here is a place where people don’t have to live in the shadows, don’t have to live in fear of ridicule or rebuke. Each and every one of you here can call yourselves free. And it is that idea of freedom, that this whole country was once founded upon. Fahrenheit exemplified that ideal, fighting, and giving her life so that Goodneighbor could retain the man who made it great. She died without an ounce of fear, even in the face of the devil himself, and it is that bravery, that courage in the face of darkness that we should all strive to embody.” Lee’s voice shook, but after a pause, the crowd cheered, and Hancock wrapped his good arm around her waist.    
  
“You should start writing speeches for me,” he whispered to her with a wink. “Now, what is the best fucking town in the commonwealth?” 

The crowd responded. “Goodneighbor!” in unison. 

“Damn fucking straight!” Hancock shouted. “Of the people, for the people!” the crowd shouted along with him, as Lee beamed up at him. “Now, drinks are free for the next week at the Third Rail, mayor’s orders.”    
  
The crowd cheered impossibly louder, and a good number of them heading down to the bar make good on the mayor’s deal. 

“I think we both could use a drink,” he said, pulling her closer to him. “You up for it?” 

She smiled crookedly. “A drink is just what the doctor ordered.” 


	12. Locking Up the Devil

With the help of some med-x, Lee managed to sleep through the night. John was still asleep when she woke, and she did her best to leave without disturbing him as she headed out back to the Memory Den. 

Irma greeted her with a warm smile as she entered, telling her Amari was already in her office downstairs. Lee thanked her and quietly made her way down, anxiety welling up in her as she did. She hoped the doctor could do something for her, but she feared that Holiday would never leave her mind in peace now that he’d somehow gotten a foothold. Voices from the office made Lee stop before reaching the door, her eyes widened when she realized who Amari was talking to.

“Last night was- well I don’t really have a sufficient word to describe it,” Amari said, sounding flustered. 

“Well, I certainly hope it wasn’t something you’ll come to regret-” 

“Regret? I may have a lot of regrets, but you will never be one of them, Nick.” 

Lee slapped a hand over her mouth in shock, as Valentine chuckled. “Glad to hear it. Does that count as an invite back?”    
  
“My bed is always open to you, Mr. Valentine,” Amari replied smoothly. 

Lee’s hand clamped tighter around her mouth, trying to stifle the inhuman screech that was trying to escape her throat. She contemplated turning and running away, but before she could even move Nick came out of the office, instantly coming to a dead stop upon seeing her.    
  
They both stared at each other for a good five seconds, before Nick’s lip quirked up in a small smile. He tipped his hat towards her and walked past, up the stairs until he was out of sight. Lee just stood there. 

_ “What the hell just happened?”  _   
  


“Looks like the great clockwork dick, has a great clockwork dick after all.” Holiday’s voice helpfully chimed in.

Lee collected herself, taking a couple of deep breaths before walking in. Amari was working at her terminal, turning when Lee cleared her throat.    
  
“Ms. Steele, I hadn’t been expecting to see you so early.” the doctor said, straightening her white jacket. 

Lee attempted to smile cluelessly and offered a shrug. “You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm.” 

“Or the dick, apparently.” the demon in her mind offered.   
  
Lee nearly choked. “Look, if there is anything you can do to shut this voice in my head up, I’d greatly appreciate it.”    
  
Amari pursed her lips. “You hear it now?” she questioned. “What is it saying?” 

“Nothing important. Just, uh… snarky one-liners.” Lee deflected.    
  
“Snarky one-liners?” Amari raised an eyebrow and Lee nodded. “Well, that’s a new one. Sit down, I’ll look you up to one of the pods and see if we can’t figure out what it’s stemming from.” 

The merc sat in the designated pod and waited for Amari to connect her. Uneasiness crept into her stomach as the doctor counted down, the world around her began to blacken until she was standing in back in Tenpenny tower. 

“Valkyrie, valkyrie, valkyrie. Trying to be rid of me so soon?” Holiday’s voice echoed. “And here I thought we were friends.” 

Lee stiffened, forcing herself to remain still. “You have a sick way of treating your friends, Holiday.” 

He materialized in front of her, his face stoic. “I was the only  _ friend _ you had, once the Institute dumped you on me for a trial run. Unfortunately for them, I had no intention of ever returning you.” 

Lee regarded him with confusion. “Why? Why did the Institute even replace me- her, the real Lee? I was-ugh!” She growled in frustration. “ _ She _ was just an average person, just trying to survive in the ruins. Why did the Institute choose her?” 

A smile cracked Holiday’s face. “I’d tell you, but I’d hate to give away spoilers and ruin the surprises.” 

Her lip pulled back in a snarl. “You son of a bitch either tell me or get the fuck out of my head!”    
  
“But why would I do that? It’s so nice and fucked up in here? Reminds me of home.” He hummed.    
  


Lee ran at him but he easily threw her to the ground, a boot coming down on her throat. “You’ve never had the upper hand, Valkyrie, and you never will. In here, out there, it doesn’t matter. In fact, if it wasn’t for your synthetic enhancements you’d have been dead a long time ago.” He pressed harder, causing her to struggle more for breath. “You can thank your entire pathetic existence to me. I found the original Annabelle, I brought her to the Institute, and when you were created, it was I who trained you. You owe everything to me.” 

Lee coughed, the pressure on her throat barely allowing her to breathe.   
  
“Ms. Steele, your heart rate and blood pressure are increasing. Remember this is your mind, you are in control. You just have to have the will to shut him out.” Amari’s voice echoed through the building.    
  
Holiday scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t you have a kitchen appliance to be fucking right now?” 

Amari’s voice choked. “I- I- oh dear god.” the sound of typing filled the area. “Hold on, I’m going to try something.” 

Holiday sneered. “You can’t  _ will _ me away. That’s not how this works. I am part of you, I’m here whether you want me to be or not. We’re partners, just like the good old days.”    
  
He finally removed his foot from her throat and she scrambled up gasping for air. Holiday held out his arms, gesturing to the corpse-filled, blood-soaked tower. “Remember those days, Lee? The two of us butchering as we pleased….” his face darkened. “But then you had to go and shut down on me. We had such a good thing going, but your faulty programming fucked all of that up.” 

“You a fucking monster-” 

Holiday shot forward and grabbed her by her shirt, slamming her against the nearby wall. “You stare into the void long enough, Valkyrie, and the void stares right back. You used to revel in the blood just as much as I do.” he laughed. “Hell, Moira Brown was unrecognizable when you got done with her!” 

“Shut up!” 

“You would be nothing without me! You  _ are  _ nothing without me!” Holiday roared, his voice faltered, and his image seemed to blur momentarily. Holiday’s eyes were slits. “Oh, Doctor Amari…. What have you done?” he seethed, his lip pulled back over his teeth. His visage fluttered again, like static crackling through a screen.    
  
“Rewriting a subroutine that should keep the portion of your personality separate from Ms. Steele’s consciousness.” The doctor's voice responded matter-of-factly. “And while you’re locked away in there perhaps you can conjure up a kitchen appliance to occupy your time”    
  
Lee sputtered out a laugh, and Holiday rounded back on her, his eyes filled with rage. “Not if I destroy you first…..” He growled, stalking back towards Lee as she began backing up quickly.    
  
His hand reached out for her throat once more as her back slammed into the far wall. A scream left her throat as his vision blinked in and out of existence, fading out with a hellish shout, right as his hand gripped her neck.    
  
She fell to the ground, her hands pressed over her eyes as silence retook the memory; save for the god damned elevator music. 

“There! He should be contained. I’m pulling you out in 3….2…..1…”    
  
A blinding white light filled her vision, and she gasped, shooting forward as the pod released her.    
  
“Easy does it, slow movements.” Amari, gently settled her, careful of her still-healing wounds. “That should be the last of the errant personality interfering with your own consciousness.” 

Lee nodded in thanks and shakily made to stand. “How — how did you get rid of him?” 

“You’re not rid of him, so much as he’s trapped behind a… firewall, of sorts. From what I could see, it would appear that this ‘Holiday’ in your mind, is in fact a separate personality, installed alongside the original personality of… well, yourself-” 

“You mean the original Annabelle?” Lee amended. “It’s alright, no need to sugar coat it, doc.” 

Amari nodded. “As you say. Anyway, for whatever reason, this other personality had been dormant for much of your life, I would suspect being reattached to Institute tech unlocked whatever was holding it back.” she sighed, and frowned towards Lee. “I’ll be honest. I’m not sure if it will hold permanently. It should, so long as you don’t consciously open the door, so to speak.” 

Lee let out a breath and nodded in understanding. 

“How long have you known?” Amari questioned, her voice soft. “That you’re a synth?”    
  
The merc ran a hand through her already messed up hair. “My suspicions were peaked by a dream, the real Holiday, the one who did all this to me,” she gestured to her burns and cuts. “Then, on the Prydwen, he confirmed it.”

Amari hummed. “I’ll admit, I suspected as much when you showed me the neural link in your head. It’s a difficult subject to broach, however, and I didn’t want to bring it up in front of everyone else.” the doctor explained, her lips thin, and her brow knitted in sympathy. She looked to be debating a moment before pressing on. “There is a group, they call themselves the Railroad, you may have heard of them. But, they are people who are dedicated to helping escaped synths. I occasionally work with them performing memory wipes and personality transplants. I’m sure you have questions, they might be able to help more than I can.”

Lee mulled over her words a moment. “I just might look into that, thanks,” she replied. If they could help her find answers, then she was more than willing to talk to them.    
  
Amari smiled. “I believe you’ve already met one of their operatives. A man who seems to always wear sunglasses, even at night-”   
  


“Wait, Deacon? The guy who helped rescue us from the Brotherhood?” Lee questioned surprised.

Amari nodded. “Yes, he’s very secretive, has a knack for spying and information gathering. Tell him I sent you to him. If he really needs convincing just say ‘mine is in the shop’, it’s a code phrase.”    
  
Lee nodded, committing the phrase to memory in case she needed it. “Thank you, really. Your help means a lot.” 

The other woman smiled. “You’re quite welcome, and if you need any more assistance, you know where to find me.” 

-

Lee made her way back to the Statehouse, the sun had since fully risen and the citizens were beginning their daily tasks.    
  


She walked into Hancock’s office to find Nick and MacCready sitting upon the couches, both talking quietly; they looked up as she entered.    
  
“There you are, how’d it go with Amari?” Mac asked with an oblivious smile, as Lee’s eyes instantly shot to Nick, who’s face betrayed nothing.

Lee cleared her throat and took a seat next to the ex-gunner. “Good, everything should be working alright now.” she looked back towards Nick. “You should know, you’re not the only synth in this group anymore…” she paused and corrected. “Well, technically I suppose you never were.” 

MacCready frowned in confusion.   
  
Nick didn’t seem overly surprised, and Lee assumed Amari had shared her suspicions with him previously. “You seem to be taking it better than most people would. It’s not every day you find out you’ve been artificially created, you know.” The detective said.

“I’m sure the shock will catch up to me at some point, but after all the torture I just… can’t right now-” 

MacCready interrupted. “Wait, you’re a synth?!” 

Nick and Lee regarded him with raised eyebrows.    
  
“No Mac, I’m the world’s smallest super mutant behemoth,” she replied deadpan. 

Before the sniper could reply Hancock stumbled into the room. His trademarked red jacket hung over his shoulders, while only a tight pair of dingy white underwear covered his modesty. 

“I really shouldn’t have double dosed the med-x last night.” he rasped collapsing next to Nick, his legs spread out as his head rolled back, eyes shutting against the light from the window. “Someone really needs to turn that thing down.” 

“Someone really needs adult supervision,” Nick muttered. 

Lee snorted. “John, you’re missing something.” 

“I did not need this in my brain.” MacCready groaned. “I’ll see you guys later.” he wasted no time in hurrying from the room.

“What’d I miss?” John groaned in question, a hand-thrown over his eyes, as Nick glared at him. 

“Your pants for one thing,” he answered. “And Lee’s intrusive thought problem’s been dealt with.” 

Hancock lifted his head. “That’s great. No more fucked up dreams, babe-” 

“John, go put pants on. Lee might appreciate the view, but some of us do not.” 

Lee choked, leaning forward to cover her face in her hands as her body shook with laughter.    
  


“Ah, come on, Nick,” he drawled. “If you got it, flaunt it-” 

“I’ll be the first to let you know if you ever get it.” the synth cut him off. “In the meantime, you can go get pants.” 

Hancock groaned and shoved off the couch. “That’s just fuckin rude.” he stalked out of the room muttering. “Gotta wear pants in my own house…” 

Nick turned back to Lee once Hancock was out of earshot, his expression serious. “Alright, kid,” he said. “Let’s talk.” 

Her face scrunched with confusion. “Talk about what?” she questioned slowly.

The detective sighed. “You may be able to fool everyone else, but I know how you’ve gotta be feeling right now,” he replied. “Spend your whole life, or what you believe is your whole life, knowing your one thing, only find out that it’s all artificial, memories from a life of someone else.” he stopped, giving her a thoughtful look. “I’m not asking you to bare your soul to me right now, kid. But just know that I’m always here if you need to talk. You’re not alone.” 

“I- thanks, Nick.” she wrung her hands anxiously. “I just- it doesn’t even seem real. Obviously, I know it is, but it’s just sort of… abstract. Like, how can I not be the person I always have been?” 

Nick shook his head. “See, that’s the same thinking that drove me damn near insane for years. I am Nick Valentine, and yet… I’m not. Who am I? But what took me too long to realize is that I’m still the same person I’ve always been. Since I woke up in that trash heap there has only been one Nick Valentine, I may get flashes of memories that belong to the old Nick, but I’ve always been  _ me _ , not him.” he hummed. “It’s a damn hard concept to explain, but I hope you understand what I’m getting at.”

Lee nodded. “Yeah, I get it- that’s actually a huge comfort. Thank you.” 

He smiled and regarded her fondly. “No thanks necessary, kid. Happy to help.” 

John slumped back into the room, pants in place while sticking his tongue out at Nick. “You happy now, robocop?” 

Lee snorted and Nick glanced boredly at the ghoul. “Your fly’s down.” 

-

It was around noon when Lee left the boys to their bickering, which had been nonstop since John returned donning pants. She headed into the street, her eyes scanning for Deacon. Not seeing him out and about she check the Third Rail, no luck. She checked with Daisy and Kleo, not there. She even went to the Hotel Rexford and found no trace of him there either. She was beginning to think that he’d skipped town, and she’d missed her chance. With a groan of frustration, she headed back to the Statehouse, only to be stopped by the man himself. 

“Heard you’ve been asking around for me,” he said by way of greeting. 

Lee put a hand on her hip with a slight frown. “I guess word travels fast when you’re running about looking for a person for nearly an hour.” she retorted. “Amari said I should talk to you, about… answers to questions I might have.” 

She couldn’t read his eyes behind his sunglasses but got the feeling he was sizing her up.    
  
“Might be able to answer some questions. But I got a question for you first, if Amari did send you,” he said vaguely. 

She shrugged. “Alright, yeah, what?” 

“Do you have a Geiger counter?” 

Lee frowned, confused by the out of left field question, but then she remembered what the doctor had told her. “Uh- Mine is in the shop?” she replied. “... I think?”

Deacon chuckled, and she felt him slip something in her jacket pocket as he walked by her. “I’ll see you soon.” 

She waited for a beat before unfolding the note he’d slipped her. It read: The old church wheel spins daorliar in reverse.

Now she was even more confused than before, but she hoped either Nick or John could help her figured that one out.   
  
-

Nick hummed at the paper in his metal hand. “There’s the Old North Church near here, but daorliar in reverse-   
  
Hancock leaned over the back of the couch and looked over the synth's shoulder. “Railroad. Da-or-liar, it’s railroad backward.   
  
Nick scowled. “And how the hell did you manage to figure that out?”   
  
“Mentats. They make me intellectual.” 

The detective sighed, messaging his temple. “Alright, so the wheel spins railroad. I guess we’ll figure out what that means when we get there.” he looked concerned towards Lee. “You sure you’re fit to be traversing the ruins?” 

She shrugged. “I’m not in complete agony all the time, so that’s a plus.” she joked. “I’m good, Nick. Promise.” 

He didn’t look convinced but didn’t press the issue, aside from insisting that they at least wait until the next morning, to which Lee begrudgingly agreed. 


	13. The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the chapters that I've had sitting on my computer for the past 2 years, everything going forward will be newly written content. I'm as interested as (hopefully) you are in seeing where this story goes!

The Old North Church was eerie, at least in Lee’s opinion, but then again she’d never been fond of abandoned churches. The smell of rot and mildew hung pungently as the few living ferals were quickly dispatched. The main sanctuary bore no answers, and the crew was forced deeper into the bowels of the building. The ancient crypts underneath, winding crooked and neglected, led them to a dead end. 

Lee growled in frustration. “Well, that was a waste of fucking time-” 

“Maybe not…” the detective cut her off, moving to a circular plaque on the wall. “Wheel spins Railroad…” he muttered under his breath, his hand rotating the sphere until ‘R’ was selected. He pressed down and the clicking of locks echoed through the catacombs. “Not such a dead end after all.” 

“Nick, you’re a genius.” Lee grinned at her friend. 

“I could have figured that out,” John remarked.   
  
The detective hummed. “Guess you didn’t have your mentats this morning,” he replied wryly. 

Once the entirely of ‘Railroad’ was entered the wall slid apart revealing a darkened room hidden behind it. They entered, guns drawn, now sure when they were going to find. A low electrical buzzing was their only warning before lights flashed on, blinding them.   
  
“Stop right there. You went through a lot of trouble to arrange this meeting, and I want to know why.” a female voice demanded. “Who are you?” 

Lee winced, trying to clear her vision. “I was sent this way by Deacon, we’re looking for the Railroad. I was told they might be able to answer some of my questions.”   
  
“Questions?” the woman repeated. “You’ve found the Railroad, but what makes you think we could answer any questions of yours?” 

Her vision was cleared enough to make out the people in front of her. The one speaking was presumably the leader. A tall red-headed woman whose face was stern as she watched them closely. Flanking her was a white-haired, dark-skinned woman with an impressive minigun. Lee felt a pang in her gut as she was reminded of Fahrenheit. On her opposite side was a man sporting a newsboy cap and a beat-up blue jacket, his pistol trained on her. 

“I- I recently found out I’m a synth,” she explained. “I have two personalities implanted in my skull, the homicidal version is currently trapped behind a firewall, but it gives me the impression that I was created for a darker purpose,” she noted their shocked faces. “And I want to find out why.”

The woman looked taken aback. “Well, if any of that is true I-” she turned as Deacon appeared out of the tunnel behind her. 

“Sorry I’m late Dez, got held up by some unfriendly puppies outside of Goodneighbor,” he shot a thumbs up over towards Hancock. “They’re dead, you’re welcome.”   
  


Hancock grinned awkwardly. “Yeah uh- thanks, man.” 

“This woman claims you sent her to us?” Dez questioned, an eyebrow raised towards Deacon.

“Oh yeah, trust me, she’s someone we want on our side.” he vouched. 

“We don’t have the time to resources to train a new agent, but if you really are after answers then we might be able to help each other out.” Dez proposed. “We could use you as a tourist.” 

“Not sure what that is, but sounds good to me,” Lee replied. If it got her closer to figuring out why she was created, then she’d jump through the hoops. 

“Good, talk with Deacon, he’ll explain. There’s a chapter we’ve been wanting to close for a while now.” 

Dez and her crew left the room, and Deacon made his way over to them. 

“So Dez wants me to make you a "tourist". That's what we call someone who helps out with the odd job here and there. What a waste. I'm just going to come out and say this: the Railroad needs you.” 

Lee frowned at his directness. “I mean, I’m happy to help, but why didn’t you say anything earlier?” she questioned. 

“I wanted to scope things out, make sure you were on the up and up. You coming to me sped up the timetable a bit, but the sooner the better in this case.” he smiled. “If this goes to plan, I guarantee Dez will have no choice but you make you a full agent,” he promised. “Full agent, full access. Any help you need, you got.” 

“Sounds great, let’s do it.” she nodded.

“Fantastic. Meet me by the fallen overpass, outside of Lexington,” he instructed, before disappearing down the tunnel Dez and the others had left through. 

Lee turned and shrugged towards her companions. “Guess we’re back to playing errand boy.” she pursed her lips. “Well, I am, at least. You two don’t have to-”

“Oh no, you’re not getting rid of us that easy.” John stopped her. “I can’t speak for Nicky, but I know I need something to occupy me, or else I’ll just end up passed out in the nearest gutter high off my ass. Helping out here might be the best for both of us.”   
  
Lee smiled as Nick spoke up. “I’m eventually going to have to check in with Ellie, but I think she can hold out a bit longer. Anyway, god only knows what kind of trouble you two would get into without supervision…” 

Hancock chuckled, throwing an arm around the mechanical man as they made to leave back through the catacombs. “Come on, Nick. You know you’d be bored off your ass without us.” 

-

They arrived outside of Lexington the next day. Hancock had them make a stopover at Goodneighbor on the way so that he could ensure the people would be taken care of. He tasked Daisy with keeping an eye on things, and MacCready with backing her up should she need it. They’d steered clear of getting close to Cambridge on the way, not wanting to provoke a firefight with the Brotherhood soldiers stationed there, as well as avoiding the majority of Lexington proper, due to the high amounts of ferals that resided there. On the outskirts, they holed up in a clear abandoned house for the night, before heading out at dawn to meet Deacon. 

Lee waved as she approached him. “Hope you weren’t waiting long.” 

“Nah, just got here,” he said. “I’m surprised you recognized me though.”

She frowned, and exchanged a confused glance with Hancock. “Why… wouldn’t I have?” she questioned.    
  


“Wastelander camo!” he declared, holding out his arms. His voice dropped lower. “This is my pile of garbage asshole,” he growled and then smiled, obviously proud of himself. “It’s a disguise.” 

“You literally just changed clothes, dude,” Lee responded deadpan.

Deacon shook his head with a smile. “Fashion aside, our contact is up on the overpass. I’ll take point, but you can do the talking when we meet him.” 

Lee gave him a two-finger salute. “Lead the way.” 

Deacon led up the crumbling overpass via a toppled bus that formed a makeshift ramp. It creaked under their feet and John’s hand slid into her own, his grip tight, as they made the climb. Lee smiled to herself, she hadn’t pegged him as someone nervous around heights. Once on solid concrete Deacon pointed out a rail sign, painted onto the side of a concrete divider. There were a couple of others which he claimed pointed towards their contact. Lee couldn’t help but wonder why there needed to be so many signs, especially if they already knew he was up here. 

A figure came into view at the end of the pass and Deacon came to a halt. “Alright, I’ll hang back and let you do the talking. No matter what he says just reply, ‘mine is in the shop’.” he instructed.

Lee shrugged and made her way over to the man, who eyed her warily. 

“Thank god!” he explained as she came closer. “Do you have a Geiger counter? Do you have a god damned Geiger counter!?” he shouted. 

“Christ, calm down. Mine is in the shop,” she replied, her brows drawn together quizzically. 

The man seemed to relax, but not by much. “About damn time. And who are these guys, I was told there was one contact!” he questioned loudly. 

“Oh, we’re new, just learning the ropes.” Deacon lied. 

The man shook his head, with a look of disgust. “Goddamned place is swarming with synths, gen 2’s mostly, and the front is a god damned minefield,” he growled. “I did my part, scouted the place, now I’m getting out of here as soon as the coast is clear.” 

Lee hummed and nodded, though she had no clue what the ‘goddamned place’ was. “Thank you, you did good.” she commended. 

His expression softened a fraction. “I hope it helps, I really do.” 

Lee caught up with Deacon who had already begun to move further away. “Care to explain what the info was about?” 

He stopped and looked to make sure they were far enough away from the contact. “The Railroad’s old HQ, the Switchboard. There was an attack, it was bad,” he explained. “But there was something left behind in the chaos, a prototype. That’s the target-”

“Thanks for telling me,” Lee interjected.

“Trust me, the discretion was necessary. In any case, it sounds like going through the front would be more trouble than it’s worth. Thankfully, there is an escape tunnel.” he walked to the edge of the overpass and pointed to a barely visible drain pipe. “There. We can get in through the escape tunnels.” 

Lee nodded. “Alright. Get in, get the prototype, get out.” she cracked her knuckles with a grin. “Let’s get to it then.” 

-

The escape tunnels were bathed in foreboding red light. Just as in Fort Hagen, the robotic voices of the generation 2 synths echoed down the chambers. As they crept deeper, the bodies of agents who weren’t lucky enough to escape could be seen strewn about. 

“Poor bastards.” Deacon lamented as they passed. 

Once they activated a few of the defenses that had been leftover from the initial attack, it was easy to pick off the synths from a distance while not compromising their position. Lee was beginning to think this would be easy, that was until they reached the control room. The large central room was crawling with well over a dozen gen 2’s. 

“There wouldn’t happen to be a handy turret system we could trigger, would there?” Lee whispered to Deacon as they observed. 

He shook his head. “Don’t I wish,” he said. “Most of the defenses were compromised in the attack, so we’re going to have to do this old school.” 

Nick hacked the terminal and opened the security door. The group spread out along the corridor surrounding the central room.   
  
“Hello? Is someone present?” a mechanical voice questioned.   
  
Lee waited until it opened the door before unloading two in its head. Sparks and bits of metal flew as the synth crumpled to the ground. Instantly red lasers open fire on her position. Further down the corridor, Deacon opened fire, taking out a few while they were focused on her. Nick and Hancock did the same, confusing the contingent within. 

Lee pulled out a frag and popped the pin, waiting for a few beats before tossing it into the center of the room.   
  
“Frag out! Heads down!” she shouted in warning to her friends. 

The explosion tore apart the nearby synths and triggered additional explosions from various computer stations. The remaining synths were easily dealt with. 

“Didn’t know you had grenades on you,” John said as they met back up in the smoldering room. “Always love a girl who comes prepared-”

“Are you capable of going five minutes without hitting on something?” Nick interrupted.

Hancock shot him a grin. “You feeling left out?” he cleared his throat. “Why Nick, your eyes are looking particularly yellow and unsettling today!” 

The detective grumbled and shook his head. “If you’re done being a wise-ass, we have a job to complete.” 

“The prototype should be in the back down the hall to the left.” Deacon informed. “Look for the room with a big metal bank vault door.” 

Lee nodded and took point. There were still a few lingering synth patrols in the corridors ahead. Rounding a corner, she promptly received a metal fist to her face. Cursing, she grabbed the synth’s rifle, twisting it out of its grip. She grabbed it’s wire wrapped throat with her free hand and slammed it down to the ground before firing two into its head. A red laser narrowly missed her shoulder, and she fell back behind the corner wall. Deacon leaned rounded, managing to take out the offender. 

“You good?” Hancock asked, kneeling down as she wiped the blood from her forehead.

“Yeah, just checked me good. No biggie.” she waved him off standing again. 

They finally reached the vault room, and Deacon unlocked it. Inside Lee grabbed what looked like a stealth boy, from the shelf Deacon instructed her too. 

“Looks like Tommy Whispers never made it out,” he said, stooping over the body of a man. “Damn shame. He died making sure those bastards didn’t get their hands on the prototype.” He unholstered the pistol from the man's waist and handed it up to Lee. “Here, you should have it.” 

“Deacon-” she hesitated. “Are you sure?” 

“Definitely. Couldn’t have gotten that back without you.” he insisted. “May it serve you, hell, better than it did Tommy.” 

She reached out and took the sleek silenced pistol. “Thank you,” she said. The gun was definitely better than her old beat up one, and she was immensely grateful for it.

“There should be an elevator at the end of the hall. Fire that up, and we’ll be nearly home free,” he said standing back up with a smile.

The elevator took them to the old dilapidated Slocum’s Joe, the few synths that were guarding it were easily dispatched. They headed out, careful of the mines set out front, and stopped a safe distance away.   
  
Deacon laughed. “Whoo, we did it. We should split up, meet back at HQ, but Dez will have to make you a full agent for helping retrieve the prototype,” he said with a grin tucking the device away safely. 

“Sounds good,” Lee replied, returning his smile. “And thanks, really.” 

He waved her off. “Don’t mention it. The Railroad needs more people like you.” 

They split up, with Lee’s band opting to head into Diamond City for the night. Nick checked in with Ellie while Hancock and Lee made their way over to the Dugout. The Bobrov brothers, Vadim in particular, were overjoyed to see the group again. Though neither Hancock nor Lee drank much, the ghoul did manage to secure a trade deal for shipment of the brother’s infamous moonshine to Goodneighbor. “Chuck’s gonna love this.” he’d said with a grin, though Lee had trouble imagining the surly Mr. Handy ever truly being excited about anything. 

When morning came the pair met up with Nick at his office to discuss their next move. 

“We can’t put off the Glowing Sea for much longer,” Lee said, taking a drag from her cigarette. “If we get the information before the Brotherhood, we’ll be one step closer to getting answers, and possibly rescuing that kid.” 

Nick hummed. “You have a point if the Brotherhood reaches the runaway scientist first, there’ll be no way of getting any information from him.” 

“Plus, they have the power armor to just walk right in. We’re closer to the Glowing Sea right now, we should just make the move.” 

“Gotta stock up on rad-x, babe —” Hancock started. 

“Can I even  _ get  _ radiation poisoning?” Lee questioned. “If I can that seems like a major oversight.” 

“Better safe than sorry,” Nick said. “You’re more flesh and blood than I am. No telling how the rads will affect you.”

Lee grumbled, conceding, and soon after left to stock up on everything they would need. Not knowing when he’d get his next chance, Nick used the opportunity to question the ghoul mayor. 

“So John, how’re you holding up?” the synth asked, keenly testing the waters. 

Hancock looked up from the Mentat tin he was opening and shrugged. “About as well as a 200-year-old house that got hit with a nuke, why?”

Nick sighed. “I get the feeling there’s more going on than just losing Fahrenheit. I mean, it’s not every day that your girl finds out she’s a synth after having endured god knows what kind of torture-”

“I’d rather not talk about it, Nicky. So let’s just keep it on the back burner, yeah?” Hancock said back, fishing in his jacket for a canister of jet. With all these questions he realized that the Mentats alone weren’t going to be enough.

Nick gave him an appraising once over. “Who was that man?” 

“What man?” Hancock questioned back, wishing the detective would stop doing his job. 

“The man who gave you a run for your money. I haven’t seen you be so evenly matched since you were a kid here in Diamond City-” 

“Nick, now ain’t the time to be bringing up the past.” 

“Then enlighten me, because if we’re racing against the Brotherhood you can bet that we’ll be seeing him again.” 

“Good, because next time he’s not going to be walking away.” Hancock shot. Sighing, the ghoul pinched what he had left of the bridge of his nose. “Look, apparently him and Lee had history out in the Capital. Apparently back then she was called ‘Valkyrie’, got up to some real bad shit…” 

Nick hummed. “I was afraid of something like that.” 

“Yeah, wiped a whole town out, Mega-something or other-” 

“Megaton?” Nick’s yellow eyes widened. “That was her?” 

Hancock hung his head, wringing his hands. “Guess you know more than me on that one. But, yeah, and I’d really like to stop thinking about it.” 

Nick’s processors whirred as he mulled over this new information. “You still blame her?” 

Hancock growled. “I don’t! I- I don’t know…” Standing up roughly from his chair, the ghoul began pacing back and forth. “Fuck I did at first, I was horrified! Told her as much…” He shook his head, trying to collect his thoughts. “But after seeing that-that  _ fucking  _ monster… I don’t know what to think…” 

Nick paused for a moment before speaking. “I think the deciding factor here is her being a synth, John. Why she was created and why the Institute gave her over to  _ him _ , is beyond me. Hell, I don’t even know why  _ I  _ was created! But, judging by who she is now? I’d wager a good guess that most of what she did back then wasn’t by choice.” 

Hancock nodded, running a hand over his bare scalp. “Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too.” 

“My advice? Talk to her about it. Your relationship isn’t going to go anywhere if you can’t talk through your problems.” 

“Are you looking to open Valentine’s relationship counseling service now?” Hancock snorted. 

“Well, the heart signs can always be repurposed-” 

Before he could finish the door swung open and Lee stumbled in with her arms full of rad-x, rad-away, and noodle cups. “Do you know that Myrna bitch had the audacity to refuse to serve me when I told her I was a synth?” She stumbled forward and dropped everything onto Nick’s desk. “I mean,  _ she  _ asked! Would she have felt better if I lied!?”

Nick chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, she still won’t serve me after all these years,” he said. “The trick is to go at night when the Mr. Handy is working.” 

Lee let out a huff and started passing out the noodle cups she bought. “Figures a Mr. Handy would be nicer.” she passed Nick a noodle cup. “Wasn’t sure if you ate, but figured it would be rude to not get you one.” 

The old synth laughed. “It’s the thought that counts, doll.” 

Hancock shrugged and reached over to nab Nick’s cup. “More for me then.” 

Lee smacked him. “You’re the worst.” 

“And that’s why you love me,” he said grinning back widely. 

Nick sat back and watched as the pair bickered. He wanted them to enjoy at least one night of peace before walking into an irradiated hell and onto a potential warpath against the two most powerful factions in the Commonwealth. 


End file.
